Level Up! Love!
by weluvgirlswithglasses
Summary: High school life won't last forever. The two of you had better stop screwing around if you want to advance before graduation. Konami.
1. Draw Straws!

**Disclaimer:** Lucky Star's not mine, the characters aren't mine, Japan isn't mine and neither is the poor American depiction of it. Okay?

**Author's notes: **I wanna thank everyone who reviewed my last two stories. You really encouraged me to write some more! So here it is. A story where something happens. This one will be in chapters. My girlfriend co-authored and beta'd this one for me, for she is awesome and can write Konata far better than I can. I did a lot of research on the Japanese schoolyear and did my best with little Japanese-y details. If you find something _incredibly_ glaringly wrong in reference to culture, please speak up. If it's a minor nitpick, please keep it to yourself and just tell me what you think of the story. Anyway, enjoy the fic and the Haruhi reference.

**Level Up! Love!**

Chapter 1: Draw Straws!

It was a damp, gloomy day for the students of Ryouou High School. The sun had risen in a shroud of pale gray which had steadfastly refused to budge for the remainder of the daylight hours. Only deeper shades had creeped into the clouds as the afternoon pressed on. By the time the familiar school bell for dismissal chimed throughout the building, the saturated skies had opened themselves up and released a very unpleasant downpour on the residents below.

Being November, it was no gentle storm. Drops of rain chilled like icy pinpricks, and sharp gusts of wind tossed a variety of leaves and other light debris haphazardly about the ground. Many of the students who did not have any clubs or extracurricular activities found themselves grimacing and groaning at the uncomfortable commute home. Only a small number of brightly colored umbrellas peppered the otherwise dismal scene.

A group of three friends, having been dismissed from Ms. Kuroi's classroom for the day, now stood hesitantly by the school's doorway. They were missing the one member needed to complete their usual quartet, who had opted to stay a few minutes late in her own classroom in order to discuss some things with her teacher. Konata, Tsukasa, and Miyuki had unanimously agreed that stalling the inevitable trek through the storm by waiting for their friend was a welcome detainment. She had been taking a bit longer than expected, though. And Konata did not have a high tolerance for the boredom. Redirecting her gaze from the endless barrage of droplets outside, she turned to her friends.

"Hey, I know a fun rainy day game," she said.

Tsukasa and Miyuki, who had been talking about the pros and cons of feather pillows, turned to Konata with polite interest.

"What is it, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"It was decreed by the brigade chief. It's great, because it is designed to be funny on boys and mega-moe on girls. Oh, and it's also funny on silent girl types, but Minami isn't here right now, and neither is Sebastian, so we'll just have to do with the moe."

Naturally, Konata's two friends were baffled.

"Izumi-san, could you explain it in a simpler way? I'm sorry, but I don't understand." Miyuki requested from behind a couple of sweatdrops. Tsukasa nodded in agreement.

"Basically, we draw straws, and the loser has to turn around and say, "I love you." to everybody behind them."

"I-I-" Tsukasa stammered.

"--love you?" Miyuki finished uncomfortably.

_This is gonna be great..._ Konata thought to herself as she nodded and watched her flustered friends through squinted eyes. "Don't worry about it. Everybody gets a turn sooner or later, so it's not that embarrassing. It's really fun."

"Well, I guess we could give it a try..." Miyuki ventured, attempting optimism. Tsukasa still looked a little scared as Konata produced some straws from her bag. If Kagami had been there, she would have asked Konata why she had straws in her bag. They would have learned that Konata was waiting for a good rainy day to victimize her friends, and wanted to be prepared. However, without the tsukkomi around to set them straight, Miyuki and Tsukasa remained woefully ignorant.

Now Konata had not only successfully talked her two gullible and appeasing friends into playing the bizarre game, but had also managed to draw the longest straw. Naturally, she ordered them to take their turns first. Their delicious moe factors made it all the more of a travesty if they were to go in any other order, of course. A number of boys that had been attempting to wait out the rain shared Konata's questionable smile as they watched. The pink and lavender haired girls did not disappoint in their adorably timid and awkward deliveries of the line. Konata decided to let them go a few times before taking her own turn, encouraging them enthusiastically.

Of course, being too much of a ham to let her friends completely dominate the game, Konata finally insisted that they'd had enough and stepped forward. A victim to of her love of emulation, the blue haired girl put on her shiniest eyes and silkiest voice. Her hair glistened in the fluorescent light as she turned around to face the small circle her two friends had made.

It was at this moment that the group's missing member made her return. She had been walking down the hall casually, bag in hand and her arms neatly at her sides. Upon catching sight of the familiar collection of blue, violet and pink standing by the doorway, Kagami made a friendly smile and lifted her hand, mouth open for a greeting.

"O--" She was cut short before the second syllable could flit from her lips as her much shorter friend spun around abruptly and faced her.

"I love you!" Konata's voice was as played up as her appearance was. Kagami received the full force of her display. She now stood frozen as a statement of inexplicable intimacy was suddenly fired in her direction. The girl's heart felt as if each of its chambers had come to a screeching halt. Her pupils dilated and stared in complete shock at the lazy green pair facing them.

It didn't happen often, but Konata's eyes widened for an instant upon seeing Kagami in front of her. Just an instant.

Kagami felt that she should say something. Such a completely bizarre outburst deserved a comeback wrought with bitterness. She opened her mouth to deliver.

"...w-what?"

Any surprise or emotion on Konata's face melted away into a lazy, mocking grin. "I'm disappointed, Kagamin. I thought you'd have a better comeback than that."

Kagami flustered immediately, an enormous frown taking the place of the slightly hanging jaw of a moment sooner.

"Wh-wh-what the hell was that? W-we're in school, for crying out loud! Act appropriate!" Kagami sounded a little more intense than she usually would, her attitude working to dissolve the crowd of boys that had gathered.

Konata waved her hand dismissively, "It's a game the Brigade played when they were bored and rained in. I thought it would be fun, but I didn't anticipate such awesome timing!"

Kagami didn't quite understand what exactly Konata had just attempted to explain, but was clever enough to deduce that she had been referencing some anime. But...'awesome timing'? What could she mean by that other than...than patting herself on the back for nabbing yet another perfect moment to humiliate her? Kagami struggled mentally to return some form of dignity to herself. She simply had to pretend that no one could see the heightened color of her cheeks. Taking a deep breath in the guise of a sigh, her tone calmed.

"Jeez, anime again? Honestly, can't you tell when that kind of behavior is completely inappropriate?" Kagami slung her schoolbag up over her shoulder and shut her eyes while speaking, tilting her head toward the floor as if feeling shame for her friend's sake.

Konata seemed to ignore Kagami's admonishment, opting instead to remark on more embarrassing observations. For the lulz, of course. The blue haired girl smirked and chided, "You're blushing."

Kagami felt her blood rise, promoting the tell-tale color on her face to a more obvious hue. She shot a dangerous look to the smaller girl.

"Don't look so smug. You're the one who should be embarrassed, after all."

"You're so embarrassed you're soaking all of mine up!" Konata lifted her arms in the air for emphasis, and Tsukasa let out an uneasy little laugh.

"Enough already!" Kagami insisted assertively. "We're going home. Follow if you want. Tsukasa, you've got your umbrella?"

Tsukasa jumped a little and began rummaging through her bag for her umbrella. After a few passing moments, she grew more frantic. "Oneechan, my umbrella--"

"Hm? You can't find it? You did bring it today, right?"

"I-I thought I did..." Tsukasa stumbled over her words.

Kagami began to look a tad exasperated. "Hey, you didn't forget it at home, did you? I checked the weather for you and all."

Tsukasa squinted her eyes shut as she shook her head and made another noise of distress. Konata folded her arms behind her head and watched silently.

Kagami sighed lightly, her annoyance gently dispelling and giving way to her instinctive care for her sister. "Don't worry about it, Tsukasa." She handed over her own folded umbrella, giving her younger twin an encouraging little smile. "Here, take mine. I've been okay without it before."

"But Oneechan, " Tsukasa began. Before Kagami could cut her off, Konata did.

"It's okay. Kagami can share with me. My umbrella's really big."

Kagami glanced over, looking dubious. "Wait, you brought yours?"

Konata laughed a little, "Yeah, my dad shoved it on me when he saw the weather. He wouldn't even let me take the little one because it said it would be windy, and you know how the rain can get around the umbrella when it's blowing horizontally."

"Yes, that can be so troublesome, especially when you're wearing a long skirt or pants!" Miyuki chimed in.

"And when you try to bend over and hold the umbrella forward instead of up, the wind changes direction and you end up all wet anyway." Tsukasa added, looking up.

Konata nodded. "Yeah. But it's not that strong right now, so it should be okay to share. Sound good, Kagamin?"

Kagami did her best to suppress the image of Konata's giant umbrella and tiny body being carried away by a strong wind, and shrugged a little. "Well alright, as long as you're planning on acting normally if I'm gonna be crammed under an umbrella with you."

_I'd better hold onto the handle good and tight..._

"Sure, sure."

Konata took Kagami by the wrist to get her moving. Miyuki followed and Tsukasa jogged to catch up, clutching Kagami's umbrella. "Thank you Oneechan, thank you Kona-chan!"

* * *

The doors to the train slid open and the trio boarded, leaving damp footprints on the smooth floor beneath them. Kagami took a seat and smoothed out her skirt, Tsukasa sitting beside her. Konata opted to stand, placing herself slightly between the twins. She was situated a little more to the left, hovering slightly over Kagami.

The pigtailed girl blushed despite herself, and despite her previous attempts at fighting the blush while the two had walked closely together under the umbrella. The warmth of Konata's elbows and fingers brushing hers had felt good, but had at the same time made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She was a little glad that Konata had decided not to sit next to her. The tips of her pigtails now dripped onto the floor, but only slightly. Konata had actually done a good job at keeping her dry.

"From this angle, you look thinner."

Kagami's eyes batted. Had she just said...'thinner'? The girl's features softened into a fragile look of surprise. She looked up.

"...what did you say?"

"You look thinner. It's nice."

Heartbeats picked up speed. "Wait...you mean that?"

"Well yeah. I usually look at you from eye level or below, and those angles usually accentuate your meatiness. Viewing from an overhead angle hides that. That's why it's called the 'Fat Girl Angle' on the internet," Konata explained with the airs of a tour guide.

"Quit while you're ahead!" Kagami snapped, all manner of sweetness vanishing from her aura. Konata's smirk widened.

"You were pretty sweet when I said you were thin though. My words really affect you, huh?"

"Not in the way you're thinking, believe me." Kagami huffed and frowned further, secretly relieved to have quickly regained her sharp edge. Tsukasa looked a tiny bit confused.

Konata ignored the comeback. "Is it because of what I said to you earlier?"

"D--"

Kagami choked on her own tongue for a second.

"Don't kid yourself!" Her voice raised again, this time getting a few extra passengers to glance over at her.

"Ah, but you know what I'm talking about! It -was- on your mind." Konata did nothing to hide the smug tone in her voice.

"Come off it, already. I was only--" Kagami was rudely interrupted by Konata before her defensive statement could make itself known.

"So...if I were to do this right now..." The shorter girl leaned downward toward her seated friend, touching the tips of their noses together. "You'd be fine?"

Kagami was dumbstruck for only a second, then leaned back against the back of her seat as far as she could. The heat from her face still radiated onto Konata's. Konata only followed.

"Hn, Kagamin's so cute when somebody tries to get too close." The girl teased, her own cheeks not showing the faintest hint of a blush.

Kagami stuttered and choked on a witty comeback that just wouldn't cough its way up her throat until finally, she gave up and went for an outburst.

"Mou, enough already!" She shut her eyes tightly. "We're almost home, so can't you just shut up for the rest of the ride and behave like a normal person?"

Konata's grin shrank slightly. She leaned back and folded her arms behind her head.

"Well, now that you have the whole train staring..." The length of her smile returned. Konata looked quite pleased with herself.

"..." Kagami's indigo eyes darted tentatively from side to side, catching sight of other passengers politely turning their heads away from the sight the two of them had created.

Poor Kagami immediately hung her head, face steaming.

"Are you satisfied now?" She grumbled, embarrassed and defeated.

Konata was looking out the window. Though Kagami wouldn't notice, her gaze had grown a bit distant.

"Not quite." Was all she answered.

**Footnotes: **I'm already over halfway done with chapter 2, so you can expect that one pretty soon. It's hard to make a story where something happens in an anime where nothing really happens. Anyway, please write me a review if you can. Both my significant other and myself love getting feedback on our creative endeavors.

**Next Time:** Hey everyone, Konata here. Y'know when you really get into a show but it ends and you want to experience more? So much that you resort to reading fanfiction, but most of it sucks. Especially because they have no dedication. You're reading a fanfiction and it's good so far, but then the chapter just ENDS when you're totally not ready for it to, and you're left feeling TOTALLY dissatisfied. It's all because the author got tired of writing--which also means you never know when the next update will come. You want to message them and say, "Hey, that's not cool!" but you can't because it's not their day job and they're just doing it for fun. Sometimes all I can do is try to distract myself with video games, but then I eventually forget about the fanfiction and never check back. When I finally remember to check again, I can't remember which fanfiction it was, and I stay dissatisfied forever? Doesn't that suck?

Next Chapter-- It's Harder than a Galge. Otanoshimi ni!


	2. It's Harder than a Galge

**Disclaimer: **At chapter 2, Lucky Star still isn't mine. Imagine that.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for the reviews again, everyone. We love them. Heads up here, a part of this chapter takes place in an online conversation, and is written in chatspeak (it was very, very difficult to actually make myself type like that). I obviously don't know any Japanese chatspeak, and it wouldn't make sense due to this being written in English anyway. I hope it's not too confusing. The dialog is completely back and forth. We also aren't too clear on game terminology, but we did our best so bear with us. Anyway, thanks again to my co-author/Konata and beta. Now enjoy reading the frenzied and not-so-frenzied thoughts of the Konami.

Chapter 2: It's Harder than a Galge.

The rain had eased. Only a hanging drizzle beneath stubbornly darkened clouds remained, sprinkling itself gently over the town of Washimiya. Kagami returned home with her head slightly hung, announcing her arrival as her sister trotted in behind her. After hearing the usual greetings from her family, the tired girl slipped off her shoes, removed her coat and retreated quickly to her room. This wasn't too out of the ordinary. Entrance exams were only a few months away, and Kagami was not one to shirk diligence.

Once in her room, she took a nice, deep breath. Some alone time was definitely what she needed. Already she was starting to feel better after one of Konata's more relentless teasing sessions on the way home. Sighing, Kagami took moment to enjoy the comforting feeling of coming home to a dry, warm place from the cold rain.

She only allowed herself the slightest brevity in the simple pleasure, however, and shortly reached into her bag to pull out all relevant books and documents. Kagami arranged herself properly for her work. She scooted her chair nice and close to her desk and loomed determinedly over her notes, pencil in hand.

_A couple of hours should be good enough for today..._

Ten minutes passed. A few paragraphs were successfully covered, a few important lines highlighted. Those lines were mentally repeated for the sake of memorization, echoing through the girl's mind...

_"I love you..."_

Kagami gave a few hard blinks. Had she randomly remembered Konata's antics just now? Weird. Yeah, it was really weird...really weird of her... Kagami recalled Konata's showy movements - the twirl of her long ultramarine hair, the exaggerated sparkle in her emerald eyes, even her voice had seemed silkier as she'd spun around so ridiculously...

_"I love you..."_

Some more time passed. Kagami's cheek was rested in her palm. A content, almost dreamy smile had settled upon her lips. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular, and her pencil danced lazily between her fingers. The scene of Konata's silly little misdirected statement began happily replaying itself in the pigtailed girl's mind over and over again. An audible little sigh slipped out of her.

Kagami caught herself this time. She had lost focus. Glancing at the clock, she saw that an additional fifteen minutes had passed...fifteen straight minutes dedicated to daydreaming about an obnoxious little twerp who had spent the afternoon's train ride turning her dignity into a disheveled plaything.

"Ugh, how stupid...she wasn't even talking to me."

Kagami tightened her grip on her pencil, tossed back her hair and got back to work.

Only five minutes passed this time before her thoughts were invaded.

_"So if I did this right now..."_ She recalled the annoyingly suggestive tone Konata had used.

She had really been playing it up this time, hadn't she? Putting her face in so close like that. And in public, too! The vivid image of Konata's large green eyes and tiny cat smile etched itself playfully into Kagami's mind. Her little nose had been warm to the touch. Kagami placed a finger over her own nose, attempting to recall the feeling of Konata's face just barely touching her own...

_"It -was- on your mind!"_

Kagami violently shook her head, whipping her pigtails from side to side.

"Ah, mou! This isn't the time!" She reprimanded herself. Clenching her pencil, she forced an exaggerated lurch toward her schoolwork. Kagami's vibrant blue eyes fixated themselves with sniper-like intensity to her target. She read on. Realizing that she was at the end of the page, she swiftly turned it. "Focus...focus."

_"Hn, Kagamin's so cute"_

Kagami's thoughts managed to cause her own heart to skip a beat. She could even feel the heat rising in her face as she still determinedly glared down at her notes, her brows knitting and her mouth quivering. The pencil shook in her hand a little.

_No! I won't let her distract me anymore! I have to focus on my studying, damnit! No more thinking about it! No more!_

She had been very warm under that umbrella...

_No, no, no!_

_"I love you..."_

Knock knock

Tsukasa's small fist gently tapped the frame of Kagami's door. She wore a sheepish smile as she peeked her head through the open crack. In her other hand she held a notebook and pen.

"Oneechan, I was having a bit of trouble with one of the questions in he--"

Tsukasa cut herself short when she got a look at the slightly crazed expression on the face of her older twin, who had whipped her head around at an inhuman speed. As if to accentuate, the pencil in Kagami's left hand snapped in half simultaneously with the turning of her head, its eraser half plunking to the floor. One of Kagami's eyelids twitched, just slightly.

"...b-but I think I'll figure it out myself..." Tsukasa quivered out, the tips of her bow drooping. She ducked back behind the door and disappeared from sight. It was a little too late before Kagami found the wherewithal to try and stop her.

The girl's forehead hit her desk with a soft thump. Strands of lilac hair scattered and settled about the otherwise neatened study materials.

_I'm going crazy..._ She groaned inwardly. _One little sentence from her and I'm messed up for the rest of the day? This is pathetic!_ The girl folded her arms and rested her forehead upon them, still keeping her face buried. "She wasn't even talking to me." She spoke aloud to herself. "She didn't even...even say that to me." She sighed through her nose. _So I should just let it go and move on. This is no way that a university student would be behaving. If I'm not careful I'll wind up like her, completely unprepared for next year..._

Kagami paused in her thoughts for a moment. Lifting her head from her desk, she leaned against the back of her chair and stared up at the ceiling. Next year...next year she would be a university student. Things were going to be so different. Would she still commute home? She hadn't really thought about that. What were the others planning? Would they be far away? Would she be far from them? Would Konata...?

Briefly, Kagami toyed with the scenario of a new life where she didn't see Konata every day. No lunches together, no copying homework, no weird trips to Akihabara every week or visits at home. No more teasing, no more bizarre anime and game references being inserted into the everyday aspects of her life, no more endless conversations about nothing and everything under the sun.

_I would miss her..._ Kagami mused wistfully. _I should try to keep in touch no matter what happens, I guess._ She smiled a bit. _At least if we go to different schools, she couldn't use copying my answers as her only excuse to hang out anymore._ There was still no way Konata would be diligent with a University lifestyle, though. Kagami knew that. Where a responsible person like herself carefully placed all of her priorities in the correct order, Konata's priority was always to have fun. She was always off in another world. _Such a pain. But I guess that's one reason why I love her._

Kagami broke from her pondering and instantly sat up straight. Her face was rigid. She had made herself blush again. Her hands were partially lifted, as if she were planning to touch them to her cheeks but had not quite followed through.

_I did NOT just think that! I...I need to get back to work!_ The frazzled girl scrambled back to her papers and snatched up her pencil. Of course, it took her a couple of seconds to realize that her pencil was nothing more than a splintered stub now. Sighing, she went to dig for a new one.

* * *

The door to Konata's room shut with a soft tap. The small girl stretched lazily, then went about changing from her uniform. From the train station to her room, a pleased little smile had failed to fade from her catlike mouth.

"Mission complete." She mumbled happily to herself, pulling out the chair at her computer desk and booting up. A few familiar clicks and keystrokes later, Konata was successfully logged onto the game of -000000-. Not even a second had passed before a message popped up on her screen. It was her dear wife. The room filled with the soft but vigorous sound of clacking keys.

"hey"

"hey, whats up?"

"not much, where u been?"

"stayed a lil late cuz of rain"

"leveling up's not the same w/o u dearest lol"

"lol thx. i was tryin to IRL level up"

"whut again?"

"yea, exp really paying off. im getting closer"

"u been at it a long tiem. why's it taking so long for ur 'good end' honey? lol"

"IRL is harder than a galge"

"i guess i wouldn't know LOL"

"but i think i triggered a flag today"

"o yeah? think ur gonna get her luv meter high enough before the final day?"

"sorta. u cant expect a tsundere like this 1 to confess like in the galge"

"sure wasn't this hard for u to win me over lol"

"lol yea"

"once u succeed r u gonna be around less?"

"lol u jealous?"

"well u r technically cheatin on me"

"arnt u married to 5 other ppl?"

"baby thats all on different characters, don't take it hard"

"lol ur such a slut"

"ur no better dear lol"

"haha. hey im bored honey. Lets go raid that party from yesterday k?"

"sounds good"

Konata's conversation idled into occasional tactical comments as she and her wife began victimizing a rouge group that had been harassing some newbies the other day. It was an errand of justice.

There was a small knock on the door, but the blue-haired gamer couldn't answer. It was hard to get up in the middle of a big fight, especially with others relying on her. So instead she called, "Come in."

Yutaka's head poked into the room.

"Oneechan, the phone is for you."

"Kay."

Tick tappa ticka tap, the keyboard gave a more enthused response than the girl.

Yutaka smiled uneasily and tilted her small head to the side, sweatdropping. "...sh-should I bring it in to you then?"

"Yup." Konata nodded slightly, but only a careful eye would have noticed.

Yutaka stepped inside. She was curious about what her older cousin was doing online that was so captivating, but experience had taught her that taking a quick peek at Konata's monitor wasn't always a good idea. Keeping her eyes away from the screen, she handed the cordless phone over.

"Here, Oneechan."

"Thanks," Konata muttered, taking the phone and wedging it between her shoulder and cheek. "Hello?"

Tsukasa's cheerful voice answered on the other end. "Ah, Kona-chan!"

"Oo, Tsukasa. What's up?"

"Oh, well...you know how entrance exams are in a few months? Well um...Oneechan's been really nervous about her studying lately, which kinda got me a little nervous about it, but I don't wanna study alone..."

Tsukasa hesitated a bit before finishing her request. "Ah...I wanted to know if you'd like to come over this weekend for some studying. We could do a late-night session and have a sleepover, maybe? I'd bake cookies..."

Konata sat up straighter and answered enthusiastically. "Oh, yeah! Kagamin did her homework already too, right?"

"Uh...I'm pretty sure she did." Konata could almost hear Tsukasa's tentative little smile in her voice. "I would ask Oneechan if she'd study with me alone, but she's been a little scary lately..."

"Scarier than usual?"

Tsukasa gave a nervous chuckle, too embarrassed to answer the inappropriate question. "K-Kona-chan..."

_Hnnn, scary-nervous Kagamin is something I've got to see..._ Konata thought wryly.

"Sure Tsukasa. Let's totally work hard together this weekend." The girl's lazy tone of voice naturally contradicted her statement completely, but Tsukasa's voice perked up nonetheless.

"So we'll see you Saturday after school?"

"Nn. Sounds good."

"Thank you! Good night, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa hung up.

Konata put the phone down and sat there for a moment. She was actually idling on the game a little.

"...An opening..."

**Footnotes:** Not -quite- sure when chapter 3 is coming out, but you can be sure that it'll be buckets of fun. Oh yeah, we had a very random talk about which Star Wars characters the Lucky Star characters would do best as (and I don't even like Star Wars all that much). We decided that Konata would be Han Solo, her dad would be Chewbacca and Kagami would be Princess Leia. Who would be Luke Skywalker? I wonder.

**Next Time: **This is Kagami. You know what it's like when you submit a fanfiction online and you're like, super excited to see the results? You wait a little bit and then check your stats, and you see you've got over 50 hits! Score! Then you check your reviews and you see that there's only one. You're like, "What's going on? Only 1 out of 50 people wrote something about it? What gives?" Then you log into your email and refresh over and over again until you finally get another one, and all they say is something like "it's cool", and even though that's really lame you're still SO happy that someone else wrote something about your stuff! Isn't it sad??

Next Chapter: Awkward Arrangements. Otanoshimi ni!


	3. Awkward Arrangements

**Disclaimer: **Oh stop it already, I don't own the series.

**Author's Notes:** OKAY, this is a long one. That's part of why it took longer to get out. That and I had work, and cleaning, and...life. Anyway. I'd like to note that I know NOTHING about the Japanese public transportation system. I wasted about an hour trying to find out if the train would stop at Satte first and Washimiya second. No avail. So, I just said to hell with it and made it so that Satte, Konata's town, is a stop before the twins. It's just a minor detail right? I really didn't have to drive myself insane with it, RIGHT?? This chapter is mostly dialog-driven, and the conversation was a little hard to twist and turn in the direction we wanted. I hope that the result will finally pay off.

Chapter 3: Awkward Arrangements

Saturday classes were dismissed. The usual relaxed wave of students poured out of the doors and into the chilly November air. Making their way casually down the hall, Konata, Tsukasa, and Miyuki were discussing the comfortability of a seifuku compared to that of Tsukasa's miko garb. Tsukasa was tangled in the minor multitasking struggle of trying to get her arms through her coat sleeves while maintaining a decent explanation of wearing the miko's robes. She was glad to interrupt herself when she spotted her sister further down the hall.

Tsukasa trotted happily up to her older sibling and gave her the usual greeting. Kagami helped her sister to button her coat, and Konata watched with a typically inappropriate smirk as Miyuki adjusted her oversized scarf. Once everyone was suitable for the autumn chill, they headed home.

The three Saitama residents bid farewell to their Tokyo-bound friend as their train pulled into the station. As they boarded, Kagami noted that Konata had not gone to work this afternoon. Didn't she work today? Maybe her schedule changed.

The length of the train ride stretched on. Kagami gazed out the window, her eyes darting subconsciously back and forth as they followed the rapidly passing scenery. She sighed a bit.

"It's nice that the week's finally over.."

Konata sighed as well. It was contagious, after all. She wore one of her usual expressions; eyes were closed and her mouth resembled an overturned number three.

"It is nice," She agreed. "even if I'll have to catch up on homework all weekend."

Kagami smirked sardonically at her friend. "You say that almost as if you mean it."

"I do." The little otaku wore a grin that implied some devious secret.

Kagami raised a brow, her smirk fading. "Wait, you're not actually serious, are you?"

"I've never been more serious in my entire life." She answered in her typical, not-at-all-serious tone of voice.

"Hey now, don't start acting weird about this-- and HEY, isn't this your stop?? The doors are closing!" She pointed swiftly to the train's exit.

"That's not my stop." Konata calmly replied.

"...eh?"

"It wasn't my stop."

Tsukasa was looking nervous. She seemed to want to interject, but couldn't find the right words or opportunity to do so. Ooh, she knew she'd forgotten something!

Kagami put her hands on her hips, bending to Konata's level in order to give her an indignant look. "Okay, are you gonna explain yourself here?"

"I'm going to your house."

"What? I don't remember inviting you ov--"

"S-sorry!" Tsukasa suddenly gushed. "I invited her for a study session a few days ago and forgot to tell you!"

Konata looked all too pleased with herself. Tsukasa's weaknesses had been to her advantage yet again.

Kagami's negative attention turned to her sister. "Tsukasa!" She scolded. "This is something you should've told me about!"

The girl bowed her lilac head and squinted her eyes shut, taking on the stance of a guilty puppy, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Ah, Tsukasa was right...Kagami is being scary." Konata commented almost-quietly.

"You be quiet." Kagami shot her a look. She then heaved her shoulders and let out a huge sigh, lifting the tips of her fingers to her lowered forehead. "Honestly...I need a warning before I'm going to see you for extended amounts of time."

"Why's that? So you can prepare yourself for how awesome it will be?"

The pigtailed girl gave a subdued glare. "No."

The train came to a halt, and the doors opened at Washimiya station.

"Well come on, if you're really coming over you'd better get moving."

Konata grunted a little as she lifted her overstuffed bag. It was crammed with clothes and materials for copying large amounts of homework. Kagami lifted her own, much smaller bag. "No wonder you overstuffed that thing today."

Konata's left eye sparkled in response. She slouched a little due to the weight of her schoolbag, but kept her small head lifted as she looked around at all the tall trees in the twins' neighborhood. Fall had descended beautifully on Saitama prefecture. A palette of vivid colors danced over their surroundings. When the wind blew, it would take bits of color off of the large patches and scatter them about. A particularly crimson maple leaf fluttered past Konata's nose. She hoisted her bag a little and turned to her friends.

"Ne, Tsukasa, what kind of cookies are you making this time?"

Tsukasa smiled sweetly. "Oh, I was thinking of trying a new recipe with raspberry filling this time."

"Mm, Sounds good."

Kagami raised her brows. "It sounds like you're more ready to goof off than to study..."

The younger twin placed a hand behind her head. "I can't help it. Whenever I have guests, I get an urge to bake something!"

"Does that mean your favorite part of baking is making people happy?" Konata asked, smiling at the girl.

"Eheh, well I do like eating what I make also..."

"Tsukasa's just one of those people who loves getting any excuse to bake." Kagami remarked, wearing a small smile toward her sister. "I don't usually get an urge to make anything unless it's a holiday or something.."

"Well Kagamin, that's because you're the lazy selfish type that only wants to bake when you run out of snacks, right?" Konata covered her little mouth with the tips of her fingers, pretending to stifle a laugh.

"What exactly makes you think that I'd only cook things for myself?" Kagami's tone grew two levels of irritation.

"Simply because no one would want to eat Kagami's cooking when they could easily choose Tsukasa's."

"What was that??"

Konata responded with a small cough-like sound, but it may have just been because she was trying to adjust her bag to a more comfortable arrangement.

"Some people bake competitively, like a sport." The shorter girl remarked.

"Really...like a sport?" Tsukasa was no doubt getting an incorrect image.

"You mean like 0000 Chef?" Kagami queried.

"Yeah, I guess that counts, but I was thinking of something more intense."

"Intense?"

"You know, the thrill of coming up with new ways to bake, better and faster than everybody else. Learning from rivals and defeating jerks with the power of Solar Hands!" Konata's eyes sparkled. She would have held fists up by her chin if she wasn't weighed down by her bag. The leather on the handle squeaked a bit as she kept fidgeting to try to relieve the ache on her fingers.

Kagami rolled her eyes a little, another sardonic grin gracing her lips. She couldn't believe that Konata had managed to make a reference there...or maybe she could. "She's already off in another world..." The girl blinked over at Konata after her statement, noticing that her tiny friend was having difficulty.

"Hey, let me help you with that." Kagami reached over and grabbed the handle of Konata's bag with her left hand.

Konata blinked a moment, but didn't let go entirely. She kept one hand scooted up against Kagami's. Her free hand went to her mouth to cover up an obvious smile and slight blush, "Ooh, Kagami-san...just like a couple..."

Kagami reddened instantly, casting Konata a gruff look that didn't do much to hide it. "Oi, don't get any perverted ideas or you won't get any help."

"Perverted ideas? This is kids' stuff. Does this give _you_ perverted ideas?"

"I don't wanna know what your idea of 'kids stuff' is!" Kagami shouted, the bag shifting a little. Glancing at it, she noticed the flap of the bag lifting up a little and showing a few of the contents. "...you brought clothes?"

Tsukasa took another turn at looking sheepish. "Oh yeah...I'd told Kona-chan that we could do a late-night study session and have a sleepover..."

"So now she's sleeping over??" Kagami looked a little more taken aback than one might expect.

"Well yeah. We have so much homework, I can't copy it all in one evening."

Kagami groaned in response.

_That Tsukasa...I can't believe she didn't tell me about this! She's spending the night? ...I'm overreacting again. It's not like this is the first time._

_...but I wonder where she'll sleep...I could suggest that we study in my room so that-- or I could just stay the night in Tsukasa's room and--_

Kagami made a short gasp and shook herself out of her thoughts. _Oh god, I'm thinking just like she expected me to! Let her sleep wherever! Don't think about it!_

Konata was staring at Kagami with a knowing expression. "You alright, Ka-ga-miiiin?"

"Of course!!" Her answer was a little too intense.

"Ho-ho!" Konata chuckled as they approached the Hiiragi family's doorstep.

* * *

The evening went pretty much as Kagami had expected and Konata had no doubt planned. Despite the older twin's light protests, the others had decided on taking care of the baking first. A minimum of two hours had to be dedicated to the cookies. Tsukasa was trying a new recipe, so she was a bit slower than usual. Konata insisted that she be present for the process, in case Tsukasa were to trip and spill anything on herself and was in need of a commentator. There was time needed for preparation, cleanup, and arranging the little cookies into heart and flower shapes. Another 30 minutes were needed for baking, which were absolutely required to be spent chatting about all things unrelated to schoolwork. Kagami attempted to distance herself and concentrate on work, but in the end gave in to her desire to be included.

Eventually, the group hustled into Tsukasa's room, cookies in tow, and attempted at studying. As she had expected and Konata had planned, Kagami did nearly all of the work. Tsukasa made multiple attempts, but her tendency to become easily distracted was only encouraged by Konata's complete disregard for her responsibilities. Thankfully, Kagami asserted some forceful one-on-one study time with her sister before the stretching hours of the night took their toll on the sensitive girl. Konata was ordered to do whatever she wanted as long as she kept her mouth shut for a while, so the blue-haired geek gladly resigned to her DS before cracking down and copying Saturday's homework.

Though a bit of progress was made, Tsukasa did not last much longer. Anything past 10:00 was already "late night" for her, and by the time the clock struck midnight she was curled up on her bedroom floor, snoozing in a manner not very different from that of a puppy.

Konata was busily click-clicking the stylus of her DS with a concentration that academics never saw. The relative peace and quiet was very suddenly broken by an outburst of "OBJECTION!" as Konata raised her arm in the air and pointed at the studious Kagami.

Kagami nearly leaped out of her seat.

Konata blinked a moment and then smiled, "Hnn."

"Jeez, don't scream like that!" The pigtailed girl scolded, holding one hand over her heart.

"Standard courtroom procedures, Kagamin."

Kagami, now successfully wrenched from her studying, took a look at the clock.

"Ah! It's already past midnight?"

"Yeah, still pretty early." Konata had gone back to click-clicking at her game.

Kagami glared. "It's plenty late by normal standards." Her eyes glanced about the room and noticed her slumbering sibling on the floor. "Ah, Tsukasa!" She exclaimed, voice softening instinctively. Kagami got up and moved over to her sister. Gently, she placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a few delicate shakes. "Tsukasa...oi, Tsukasa. C'mon, you can't sleep on the floor."

Tsukasa needed more than a little nudging before she began to sit up and rub her eyes a little, "Oneechan...?"

"Oh wow, I actually got her up-- I mean...it's time for you to get to bed. You should change into your pajamas and tuck yourself in, okay?"

Tsukasa nodded a little bit, and then leaned against the bed and began to doze off again.

"Hey-!"

"Tickle her." Konata clicktapped.

"Like I'm going to take your advice on handling delicate situations...Hey, Tsukasa!" Kagami shook her palm against her twin's back. Tsukasa flopped like a rag doll. Kagami, getting impatient, placed both of her hands under her sister's arms and stood up, attempting to lift her into a stand. "Tsu...ka...sa!"

Tsukasa was jolted awake just long enough to stand for herself and crawl into bed. There wasn't much hope of her actually getting ready for bed. She snuggled into her pillow and was gone again within 30 seconds, only muttering something which may or may not have been sleep-talking. "C'n you stay'n heer neechan, konach..."

"Eh?" Kagami blinked, then smiled a little, wiping her brow. "I guess she still wants her sleepover.."

"Seems that way. Got some extra mats for us?"

"Yeah, we've got more than enough."

"Go fetch!" Konata pointed to the door. Kagami lowered her brows at her friend, who still did not give her the courtesy of looking up from her game. She rolled her eyes and stepped out, returning a moment later with two spare sleeping mats and pillows. Kagami was already changed into her loose flannel pajamas by the time she returned.

Unexpectedly, she walked in on Konata putting on her own night clothes - a tank top with the SOS logo and yellow shorts - but she hadn't quite finished changing. At all. Parts that swimsuits would normally cover were a bit visible.

Kagami froze in her tracks and let everything plunk to the floor.

Konata looked up and smiled. "Welcome back."

Kagami lowered her head to the floor. "H-hey, finish changing!"

"Hm? What's the big deal? We're both girls." She resumed changing anyway.

_Eh, she's right...we've bathed together before, it's not like it's anything I haven't seen before. Ugh, I really need to get a grip!_

"Y-you just caught me by surprise, that's all. I'm not...used to walking in on something like that, you know." Kagami gathered up the dropped mats and pillows while speaking, hoping she could find a little of her dignity with them.

"Kagami's blown away by my stunning beauty, is that it?" Konata pretended to giggle.

"Shut up. And 'stunning' isn't the word I'd use."

In a few moments, both girls had finished laying out their sleeping areas. Deliberately or not, Kagami had arranged herself at a rather significant distance from Konata, who was relatively close to Tsukasa's bed.

"Hey hey, don't sleep over there." Konata gestured toward her friend.

"Hm?"

"We should honor Tsukasa's wishes and have a slumber party--even if she's asleep."

"Oi, that's what we're doing, isn't it? We're in the same room."

"In what sense do we have a party if you're way over there?"

Kagami gave a heavy sigh and picked her things up again, moving closer to the insistent Konata. Once her mat was spread out and she was laid down comfortably, she propped her head up on her hand. "Konata, it's past midnight. There's no time for a party now."

"It's barely morning, don't be such a stick in the mud."

"I guess school is the only thing it'll take to get you tired, huh?" Kagami smirked.

"Nope."

"Oh? What else then?"

"Bad sequels." Konata wore a very serious expression and raised a finger.

Kagami placed her hand to her forehead. "It figures...Anyway, I was working for most of the night, and I happen to be tired. You're welcome to stay awake if you can stay quiet." The pigtailed girl pulled the ribbons from her hair, letting it spill over her back. She placed them beside her pillow.

"How long are you going to keep wearing pigtails? You never see college students or grown ups with pigtails."

Kagami sighed through her nose. She wasn't in the mood to be questioned. "Did you hear anything I just said? I'm tired now."

"Fine, fine. So boring, Kagamin." Konata rolled over and picked up her DS again.

"Good night, Konata."

"'night, Kagamin."

* * *

Kagami fell asleep soon enough, and remained in a contented state for a few hours...within those few hours, however, a sort of subconscious restlessness settled upon her. Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity of sleeping in another room, or perhaps it was her proximity to a certain shorter girl, but regardless of the cause, something was wrenching Kagami from her sleep. Her eyelids tensed and clenched, mouth twisted into a small frown, and a moment later her eyes were open.

_Where am I...?_

Kagami looked up at the ceiling.

_Oh yeah, the sleepover._

Suddenly feeling a tad too uncomfortable laying on the side that faced her toward Tsukasa's bed, Kagami flipped onto her other side to face the rest of the room.

Her breathing stopped when she saw Konata's sleeping face only a few inches from her own.

Kagami blushed, and had an immediate urge to react angrily and tell Konata to give her some space. A brief look at her friend's peaceful expression reminded her that such actions would be inappropriate for the middle of the night, however, and instead she concentrated on returning her breathing to a normal pace.

She had never really been this physically close to Konata's face without some form of bantering going on between them. From here, she could really see the details of it...her long, heavy lashes gently covered her large eyes, and her catlike mouth formed a downturned V shape, hanging slightly ajar as she breathed rhythmically. Her deep blue bangs fell carelessly about her forehead, tickling the area around her cute little mole.

Kagami gave up on fighting the small smile that was curling her lips.

_So...this is Konata's sleeping face. I guess I'd never really gotten a good look at it before, had I... Like this she seems so innocent. No sly grins or perverted remarks. She's just...cute._

Kagami sighed.

_Konata...if you could hear everything I was thinking, I wonder if you'd look at me the same way?_

She paused a moment to think. _Eh...you'd probably only take the teasing to a new level, huh?_

Kagami shifted a little, resting her face on her folded arms. _It's actually nice to spend time with you like this._

"Hnnn, Kagamin looks so happy." Konata suddenly spoke. By all appearances, she was asleep. Being an expert at seeing things through her thick lashes, she was easily able to make it seem as if her eyes were closed.

Kagami's expression instantly shifted to one of slack-jawed terror as her heart took a flying leap out of her throat.

"Y-y-you're awake?!"

"It's a bit early to fall asleep."

"Early? It's gotta be 2 or 3 in the morning!"

"Yeah. Weekends are more of a 4 or 5 bedtime. 2 or 3 is for weeknights."

_What's wrong with this girl?! Did she pretend to be asleep just to nab a chance to embarrass me??_

"I was actually trying to go to sleep, because I beat the game, and I don't have my computer here..." Konata let out a forlorn sigh.

"Oh, you poor thing." Kagami retorted sarcastically as she felt her pounding heart finally start to calm.

"It's not so bad now that you're awake."

Kagami swallowed a little. "W-well...don't get used to it. I'm not planning on staying up..."

"You look too shaken to fall asleep again anytime soon, so why don't we talk a while?"

_Crap, her night vision is too good..._

"Eh...I guess I woke up because I'm not as comfortable as I am when I'm in my room. You know how when you wake up in a different room at night, you're confused for a moment and you don't know where you are?"

"Yeah, I kinda know what that's like. Like when you fall asleep playing a game, and you wake up and wonder why your bed is gone and your pillow feels so much like your keyboard..."

"That's...not exactly what I meant. Hey, do the keys leave a little imprint on your face when that happens?"

Konata smiled with very mild embarrassment. "Yeah, my face ends up looking like a big pink waffle, and then I can't help but run my fingers over it because it feels weird."

Kagami giggled a little. "I'd actually like to see that."

"It'd make you feel better over all the times I've burned you about your awkward face, hnn?" Konata paused a moment and grinned a bit deviously. "Or would you like to put syrup on and eat me up?"

"Hey, don't start talking weird again. You'd probably taste greasy and nasty anyway." Kagami flashed Konata a playful grin.

"Or delicious."

"Okay...maybe we should stop talking about that." Kagami sounded a tad disturbed.

"You'd be surprised at how popular that kinda thing is though. Not as much with syrup. It's more of a whipped cream thi--" Konata's voice muffled as Kagami reached out and mushed her palm over the odd girl's mouth.

"We should definitely stop."

Konata's tiny tongue darted out and licked Kagami's palm to remove it from her mouth. Kagami reacted predictably and retracted her hand with a squeak, blushing furiously.

"What are you, 10 years old?"

"I stick with what works." Konata gave a thumbs up.

"Jeez, you'll never change..."

"Probably not."

"Ne, Konata..."

"Nn?"

"You'd said earlier that I couldn't keep my hair the same way if I was going to be a university student...but what about you, huh? Don't your habits need to change too?"

"I dunno. My dad has those habits and he gets by fine. And I don't see why all-nighters would stop working."

"I guess you are similar enough to him already...but the work is only going to get harder and harder from here on, you know?"

"I'll be fine. When it comes down to it, I can pull through. Besides, you'll be there to help me."

"Huh? Konata, there's little to no chance that we'll wind up in the same school. Are you really being serious, here?"

"I don't know. After playing that game, being a lawyer seems like fun."

"Don't decide your career based on a video game!"

Konata didn't listen. "I'd make a great lawyer. I got through that game really fast. Also, if I can talk a scary tsuntsun like you into doing all sorts of fun things, I should be able to convince anybody of anything."

Kagami smiled beneath half-lidded eyes. "You sure are confident..."

Konata smiled and nodded, "It's the best way to be."

"So you're...you're really not worried at all, about whether or not you'll make it into a new school? Or how things will...how they'll change?" The lilac haired girl's tone of voice softened into light uncertainty.

"Not really." Konata's own complacent tone would never betray that she did in fact have a few things to worry about. At least, Kagami would never guess.

Kagami sighed inwardly. "Heh...I almost wish I could look at it like you."

The discussion ceased for a bit as the sound of raindrops bouncing off of the house gradually began to gain intensity. The two girls stared at each other through the silence, at a momentary loss for what to say next. Though the situation seemed a little uneasy, neither of them attempted to break it right away. Rather, they seemed to be seeking out the details of each other's eyes. The darkness around them eased the awkwardness of the moment a little bit. At the very least, it was masking Kagami's increasing blush.

"Konata...?" She finally decided to end the silence.

"Nn?"

"If I can't keep my hair in pigtails anymore...what...what do you think I should do with it?" Kagami cleared her throat a tiny bit. "I mean...I already know it looks bad in a ponytail, so I was just wondering..."

"Wear it down. Maybe with a headband. But not a little dogeared one like Tsukasa's. Kinda like that one you wore at Christmas. Like Chik000 from Kan000000 no M0ko, you know? It made you look more mature and elegant."

Kagami could swear she felt her face begin to burn, and prayed that Konata couldn't see it. "Eh? You really think so?" Her voice betrayed her.

"Yeah, when your face doesn't mess it up."

"_Excuse_ me?" Kagami inserted a growl into her previously sweetened tone.

"Well, when you're scowling, you don't look so pretty...but you were so deredere a moment ago!" Konata crooned with a smile.

Kagami groaned audibly, rolling to face away from Konata again. "Ugh, forget I said anything!"

Konata's hand followed the retreating tsundere just a little, moving forward to run her fingers through the hair at the side of her head.

"Mm, sure is soft, Kagamin."

Kagami's heart suddenly felt as if it were beating faster than it ever had. Warm chills went down her spine as Konata's fingers gently combed through her hair...such an intimate action... Despite feeling an overwhelming urge to just shut her eyes and let the other girl's small hand pet and play with her hair, Kagami bowed her will to keeping up appearances yet again.

"N--...knock it off, Konata! You shouldn't touch people like that." She gently swatted her friend's hand away. Kagami felt grateful that her face was turned away at the moment.

Konata withdrew her hand and sighed, "Pff. You sure are more touchy than usual."

"And what exactly makes you say that?"

"You're all nervous and shy lately. A little scarier than usual."

Konata pondered over hear own statement for a moment, and suddenly switched modes from thoughtful to devious. She crawled quickly around the futons to crouch in front of Kagami, almost nose to nose. "Is it because of that time I said, "I looove you?" She donned a lyrical voice for the last three words.

Kagami had no time to flip herself away from the fast approaching Konata, nor did her body want to obey her mind's commands once the mischievous otaku had reduced the distance between them to a near zero. Her body shivered in place, and the poor girl's cheeks practically glowed onto the face opposite hers.

"W-wh-wh-what now?? Why would it be because of something stupid like that?!"

"I don't know, Kagamin. Maybe you wish a boy would say that to you?" Konata covered her mouth with her hand, failing to keep her mocking grin well-hidden.

"Huh?" Kagami answered rather helplessly, her tongue still mildly tied from a moment earlier.

"That's not it?" Konata tapped a finger to her chin. "I really though it was, because you've never been with a boy, much less been asked out..."

"Is that kind of thing even your business?!" Kagami's ability to speak was functioning again, but she was still growing more flustered by the second. What was with all of these touchy subjects?

"Well, I am you dearest friend, and this is a slumber party. Isn't this the kinda stuff you talk about at slumber parties? I thought you'd know that, but maybe you're just that socially handicapped..."

Konata feigned pity in her voice and shrugged her shoulders a little.

"Hey, who the hell said you were my dearest friend? Don't decide things like that for me!" Kagami huffed.

"I just figured because you always let me copy your homework." Konata smiled cutely under squinted eyes.

"That doesn't give you free reign to insult my social life either way. So what if I've never been asked out? You're not one to talk." The defensive tsundere glared at the smug little geek, knowing that she had a good point this time.

"I've been asked out loads of times. I even have a wife."  
The smaller girl put her hand on her chest in a haughty manner.

"Yeah yeah, the wife." Kagami rolled her eyes. "Any disgusting pervert can get a girlfriend online. It's real life I'm talking about, and you're no better off than I am." She made sure to be wearing a stern, matter-of-fact expression to faster kill her never-ceasing blush. Konata only play-pouted at her.

"So it is the boyfriend thing that's bothering you." She reached out and began to pat Kagami on on the head. "Don't worry. You'll get a boyfriend in college. I'm sure of it."

Kagami was caught off guard by that statement. Her demeanor shifted. "Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Well, colleges are almost completely attended by guys, right? That means there'll be lots and lots of desperate ones!"

Kagami finally gave up on holding back and bopped Konata over the head with her knuckles.

Konata's eyes squinted shut with the impact. "Ouch!" she muttered. "He'll have to be a total masochist, though."

"I guess it's no use trying to clog up those comebacks of yours." Kagami twitched.

Another pause ensued. Before Konata could decide that she was sick of the silence and begin talking again, Kagami spoke up. Her voice was subdued, tentative.

"Hey...is it really that bad?"

Konata blinked. "Is what that bad?"

"Going through high school without a boyfriend." There was a gruff sound to Kagami's voice, one that she was obviously forcing in order to hide the sensitive nature of her speech. "I'm just a busy person...I dedicate all my time to work, and I spend my free time with you guys, and I don't want to give any of that up, so I don't have time..." She paused to clear her throat before continuing. "I mean of course I want to have a completely 'fulfilled' high school experience, and I've sorta always wanted to know what it's like to get taken on a date, but does that really make me so pathetic? I don't see why it should." Kagami averted her eyes from her friend as the amount of emotional truth that spilled from her mouth increased.

Konata did something unexpected. She made no teasing remark. There was no chuckle, no poke, no attempts made on Kagami's pride. Instead, Konata smiled. It was an unusually warm smile.

"Well, it's a pretty common situation for tsundere, so I guess it's okay. It takes somebody special to get the deredere part out after all."

Kagami smiled a little and shut her eyes, knitting her brows with a hint of exasperation.

"Konata, I'm glad that you're actually saying something nice...at least I think you are...but do you have to use geek speak at a moment like this?"

Kagami opened her eyes again and met the emerald pair that she had grown so very fond of. Konata was still smiling warmly, sweetly. The usual devious spark or perverted twist to her smile was not present. It was a rare expression and a rare show of fondness from her, and not something to be taken for granted. Kagami's heart fluttered. She returned the smile, then looked down shyly.

"I really am glad that you could say something nice..."

"Don't get used to it." The otaku teased.

"Don't worry, I won't." The tsundere reassured.

Konata's grin began to soften. Her hand moved forward again to brush some hair away from Kagami's smiling face. Kagami, too, softened her features. As the small hand approached her face, Kagami's lips began to part. The sound of the pouring rain outside blurred into nothing more than a pleasant buzz. Her eyelids lowered and shut, and she slowly began to lean forward...until she felt Konata's fingers graze the side her neck.

At that moment, Kagami's eyes shot open. A sharp squeal leaped from her throat and she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle an involuntary laugh. Her other hand went to cover the spot on her neck that had been touched.

Konata's eyes instantly lost their deep and meaningful gaze, and squinted into pure mischief. "Ooh, Kagami is ticklish here? I never knew!" Konata darted forward and began tickling ruthlessly.

"AH!" Kagami put up a valiant defense that consisted of kicking and flailing, and also shouting protests between laughing uncontrollably. Naturally, she fell to her back.

"N-no!"

"Very very ticklish! What about here? And here? Wow, here too!?

"N-no KonatA-HAHA! DoOON'T! Not there! I'm not tick-HAHA! Cut it ou-WOAH, not there!!"

* * *

It was about 7:30 in the morning, and light was just creeping in through the window. Gently, it crawled up the edge of the bed and washed over Tsukasa's face. Her eyes began to flutter, but it wasn't due to the light or a satisfying nights sleep. Having gone straight to sleep without any preparation, Tsukasa was now forced awake by the desperate need for the bathroom.

_Ooh...I should have gotten ready last night...but I don't feel like getting out of bed now..._ she whined inwardly. After a brief and repetitive recital of the pros and cons of bed vs bathroom, Tsukasa sat up to get out of bed.

Promptly, she froze.

She didn't remember inviting Kagami and Konata to sleep in her room. That wasn't so bad. The particularly shocking thing about what she saw was the way that they were sleeping.

Kagami was on her back, sprawled out a bit. Konata was not only beside her, but had her upper half snuggled in the space beneath the taller girl's chin. Her arms were stretched over Kagami's torso, her right hand resting curiously atop one of her breasts. As if that aspect of their position was not enough, the cat-faced girl had her cheek comfortably nestled against the other breast. While Kagami's mouth hung open a bit, Konata wore the most contented of grins.

Tsukasa's jaw hung wide open. _Oh--! W--w--what should I do?_ she began to fret, holding her hands up by her mouth and looking around nervously. _Oneechan and Kona-chan are..._

By default, the first solution that popped into her mind was, _I-I know! I'll just ask Oneechan..._ A moment of relief washed over her until she realized just how improbable that option was. _I can't ask Oneechan about this! No no, I can't! Ooooh, what should I do? I can't, ooh...Oneechaaan..._

Tsukasa squinted her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously. _No, it isn't a big deal. Kona-chan probably just moves in her sleep. Nothing to worry about. It's fine to get up and walk around them. It's fine. Everything's fine._

She didn't move.

_It's fine. It's fine._

_I-...I'll just...go back to sleep! Nn, that sounds like good idea...back to sleep...good night._

In the end, Tsukasa laid back down and stared at the ceiling for a while longer.

**Footnotes: **Oh man, I'm tired. I hope you all enjoyed this one. I've gotta say I'm a little uncertain about it. Mushy stuff is hard to deal with. Thank you to my co-author/girlfriend/beta again.

**Next Time: **Hi, this is Tsukasa! I like reading fanfiction for my favorite shows...hehe...like Keroro. There are so many creative and talented writers out there making wonderful stories. I can't help but favorite and alert almost everything I read. Eto..The problem is that there are so many stories I favorite and watch that I can't keep up with all of them! If I want to re-read a story, I can't find it again! And I get so many emails for new alerts, that sometimes I miss more important emails about school. Oneechan says that I should purge the list, but everytime I try, I can't get rid of any of them. I guess I'm just that kind of person, hehe...

Next time on Lucky Star: Mixed Intentions

O Tanoshimini!


	4. Mixed Intentions

**Disclaimer:** If Lucky Star did not belong to Kagami Yoshimizu, it would not exist. It is therefore not mine and I'm just being an enormous dork.

**Author's Notes**: Sorry this took so long! (Blame my co-author.) Thanks for all of the awesome reviews we've been getting over this story. We are truly flattered, and we promise not to make it suck. Gotta say, this chapter will not be quite as fluffy as the last…but the next one will be even more so, so don't ditch us!

Chapter 4: Mixed Intentions

The school year pressed on. November began to ease into December, bringing with it the impending end of the term and the final exams that would accompany it. As the girls' attention shifted back to making passing grades, the events of the sleepover went unmentioned. Tsukasa had most likely blissfully forgotten what she had seen, Kagami was no doubt simply pretending that it had made no emotional impact on her, and Konata...

...was "discretely" relentless.

"Hey, Kagami!" Konata lifted a hand and waved from her seat to the approaching Kagami.

"Yo," Kagami answered cheerily, pulling up a chair and arranging herself for lunch. Tsukasa and Miyuki likewise said their hello's, each of them daintily unwrapping their bento boxes. Though her friends had already begun their meals, Konata seemed to hesitate before pulling out her choco cornet. There was a certain sparkle to her eye as she spoke up.

"Everyone, don't stuff yourselves yet. I have something for you guys." She turned and picked up a bag that had been hanging on the back of her seat. Everyone save Kagami looked up excitedly.

"Something for us, Kona-chan? What is it?" Tsukasa bounced a little.

"Do share, Izumi-san." Miyuki smiled.

Kagami regarded Konata dubiously, "Why is it that I always seem to get an uneasy feeling at times like this?"

Konata didn't give a verbal answer besides a small "Hn!" She pulled a small box out of the bag. Oddly, the box was wrapped in a sheet of newspaper. Her little hands carefully unwrapped it and revealed five fresh, tasty looking ohagi. Each piece was topped by a small clip of paper with an English letter, ranging from A to E.

"Hey! That looks really suspicious wrapped like that, you know!" Kagami pointed at the crude wrapping.

"Really? I just used what I had."

Tsukasa was never critical and simply reacted happily. "Oh, Kona-chan made us ohagi!"

Miyuki looked flattered. "Oh my, you shouldn't have!"

"You're welcome!" Konata held out the box for her friends. "You shouldn't be so paranoid, Kagamin." Konata's placid grin only heightened Kagami's paranoia, of course. While Tsukasa and Miyuki each reached out for one of the dark-brown rice snacks, Kagami hesitated.

Konata glanced at her. Batting her large eyes, she suddenly brandished an unusually cute voice. "Kona-chan made one special for you, Kagamin. Can you find it?"

Kagami responded with a raised brow and a perplexed look. "What are you talking about? And what's with that voice?"

Konata's voice and mannerisms suddenly shifted again and became more tom-boyish. "See the letters, guys? You have to solve the puzzle by tomorrow."

Tsukasa looked up from the bite she had already taken. "Puzzle?"

"I'm feeling less and less inclined to even try these when you act like this, you know." The twin-tailed tsundere narrowed her eyes.

"I thought you liked puzzles, Kagamin," Konata quipped.

Kagami was about to retort when her sister's innocent exclamation cut her off. "Kona-chan, these are really good!" Miyuki nodded in agreement.

"I agree. You are quite skilled, Izumi-san."

"Thanks! I left the needles out this time, just for you guys."

Everyone stopped for a moment.

"...what?"

Konata's smile did not waver. Kagami, believing she had just grasped what was going on, had had enough. She slammed her open palm down on the desk and leaned angrily toward the smug little geek. "Just what made you think that referencing horror anime was a good idea while feeding your friends?!"

Konata waved her hand dismissively. "Really Kagamin, they're fine."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

"Have one, have one! Here, here!" The blue haired girl picked one up and started waving it, as if enticing an animal. Kagami grimaced.

"That wasn't funny the first time!"

"Oneechan, try it!" Tsukasa encouraged.

"Fine, fine! Just stop waving it in my face!"

The grumpy girl snatched the ohagi from Konata's hand, frowning at her. With a bit of hesitation, she lifted it to her mouth. She took a glance at Konata, who was only smirking at her. Shutting her eyes uneasily, she took a bite.

Kagami blinked her eyes open again after a moment of chewing. "Hey...this actually is pretty good, Konata."

Konata looked happy to hear it, almost as if Kagami's opinion weighed on her a little. "Yeah?"

"Well yeah, I just said so didn't I?" She swallowed another small bite. "Your cooking's really not bad."

"You think so, huh..." Konata tapped a finger to her chin. "Then, d'ya think I'd make a good wife?"

Kagami's brow furrowed. "Eh?"

"Do you think I'd make a good wife?" Konata repeated.

Kagami took a moment to grasp the question, and gave her friend a matter-of-fact look.

"No."

The upper half of Konata's face turned to an offended bluish hue, her mouth forming a triangular pout. "How brutal."

"Come on, Konata. It'd take a really...special person to be a husband for you, and you know it."

"Hm...yeah, I guess so. Someone really special to suit my special needs." Konata directed a stare at Kagami that would have made even a laid-back person uncomfortable. The pigtailed girl glanced uneasily from side to side, then back to the locked gaze of her strange little friend.

"H...hey, why are you looking at me that way? That's weird."

"No reason." Konata sighed through her nose. _Wow, she sure can be dumb. How awful. I asked such an obvious question and then stared at her in such an obvious way and she didn't get it. Even after that slumber party, she didn't get it at all! Maybe it was because I couldn't resist tickling her when I found out she was ticklish. It was just such an amazing discovery, I couldn't help myself! Maybe I didn't trigger a flag at all...no, I'm sure I did! But this is so frustrating, Kagamin!_  


* * *

A few days later, at the end of the day, the girls were still following their usual routines. Kagami stepped around some of the exiting students from class 3-B and walked over to her friends, still at their desks. "Hiya!" She greeted, friendly smile and waving hand in place.

Konata returned the greeting, "Hey, ready to go home?"

"Sure am. You guys too?" The others nodded.

"Just waiting for you. Did you get stuck in your chair again?" Konata grinned.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Kagami fumed.

The group of friends headed out at a casual pace. Konata didn't bother answering, but opted to cleverly change the subject.

"Hey, remember that time we talked about what animals we'd be?"

"Yeah, I think..."

Miyuki shook her head, not having been present for the mentioned conversation. Tsukasa perked up. "I remember! Kona-chan was a fox, I was a dog, Yuki-chan was a sheep, and Oneechan was a bunny, right?"

"What about it?" Kagami asked.

"I was just wondering how we would interact if we were those animals."

"Oh?"

Miyuki spoke up, picking up on the details of what she'd missed. She wore a bemused smile as she answered, "Well, if I were a sheep, Tsukasa-san might possibly be the sheepdog that keeps predators away from my flock."

"Boy, now that's something hard to imagine..." Kagami smikred at her wide-eyed sister. Konata laughed.

"Yeah, she's more likely to hide behind the sheep if a predator came along."

Tsukasa chuckled timidly, then attempted to shift the attention. "Kona-chan, would you be worshiped at a local shrine?"

Konata closed her eyes and puffed out her lack of chest proudly, "Of course I would."

"Now there's something I don't _want_ to imagine." Kagami rolled her eyes.

"Ah, but you're not one to talk, Kagamin. After all, you come from the moon and think you're better than everyone else. That's why you can't stand the idea of one of your predators getting more attention than you." She wiggled a finger. "It must be so lonely up there on the moon. You're just afraid to come down, aren't you usa-chan?" Konata spoke rapidly, inching closer to Kagami with every sentence.

Kagami leaned back uneasily, "Hey, since when did rabbits have such a stigma?"

"Actually..." Miyuki chimed. "The association of rabbits on the moon came from the shape formed by the patterns and markings on the moon, you know." She smiled as the others gave her their attention. "Since the markings resemble a rabbit standing over a mortar, the Chinese believed that the rabbit was the pet of a goddess, who pounded herbal medicines for the gods. However, Japan and Korea's version simply has the moon rabbit pounding mochi."

"Ah, mochi." Konata folded her arms. "Then Kagamin would be the rabbit who ate the mochi that all the other rabbits made."

"Do you have something you're trying to say to me??" The lilac haired girl demanded, fist clenched.

Konata did not satisfy with a direct answer. "Remember that time you ate a lot of mochi and then got depressed when you gained a few kilos?"

"Ugh, I figured this is where you were going..."

"Hehe..." The smaller girl chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Seeing as you'd be such a fat bunny, maybe I'd eat you." She suddenly leaned in close, with lowered eyelids and a smug grin.

Kagami's jaw popped open, her face gaining a frightened shade of grayish blue. "Y-you'd what??"

"Eat you. Nomnomnom." Konata wiggled her fingers in mock menace. Kagami's darkened hue began evolving into a brighter red as Konata's distance from her face only decreased.

"D-don't say things like that!" She sputtered. "That's gross!"

"Why not? The fox is a natural predator of bunnies, kon-kon!" One could all too easily imagine a pair of pricked yellow ears flicking mischievously atop her blue hair.

"That doesn't mean you can just blurt out weird stuff like that!" Kagami straightened her spine, attempting to look a bit more assertive and a little less flustered. She didn't do the best job, as her cheeks still maintained a slight glow. Frowning as if it would make the blush less noticeable, Kagami placed her hands on her hips. "B-besides, the rabbit usually gets away over half of the time..."

"Yeah, but the fox is cunning and the rabbit is out of shape."

"Yeah, well the fox is looking at not having any homework to copy this week." Kagami growled.

Konata's eyebrows fell as a metaphorical little yellow jolt ding-donged at the side of her head. "He-hey, you don't have to be so hasty..." Her tone sweetened. Kagami grinned a tiny grin of triumph. A barely noticeable blush still clung to her face. Konata rubbed the back of her head a little, "The rabbit does usually get away...but you have to admit. Sometimes it doesn't try enough, or maybe the fox is too crafty." Konata's voice dropped its suck-up tone and took on a much more pensive air than it was apt to having. "Sometimes, do you think the rabbit might want to be caught?"

Kagami's grin faded. "What exactly are you trying to say, here?" She asked, a questionable timid shift sneaking into her tone.

"I don't know. That's why I asked you." The smaller girl stared, as if it should be obvious. Kagami stared back, looking staggeringly perplexed. There was a moment of silence that started to stretch out, the both of them locked in place. The confused look on Kagami's face gradually began to shift to a nervous embarrassment as the stare continued. With the slow color transition of a mood ring, the blood in the girl's face started to rise again. Konata simply looked expectant. Awkwardness increased.

Kagami sputtered, "J-jeez, I don't even know what you're talking about half the time!" She sharply diverted her gaze to the floor, raising her shoulders defensively.

Konata sighed heavily and shook her head, "And you were supposed to be the smart one. I bet Miyuki-san would have known." She folded her small arms. Miyuki was too busy explaining to a fascinated Tsukasa about a fluffy white breed of dog who becomes a part of the sheep's flock in order to protect them, to notice that she had been mentioned. Kagami forcefully gave her attention back to the sheepdog conversation, leaving Konata with her frustrations.

_Hmph. So close! But maybe this kind of reaction a good sign. It didn't go entirely over your ears this time, my little usa-chan. Hnn, looks like I'm getting to you. Maybe it's time for a bigger move..._

* * *

"Ah, I had a horrible dream last night!" Kagami exclaimed as a morning announcement, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Nrrn? What was it about?" Konata inquired.

"I dreamed I went to get a haircut, and...and the guy sliced off half of my hair. It looked awful!"

"Oneechan really likes her long hair." Tsukasa giggled. Konata seemed to be contemplating.

"Half your hair..." She held up her index finger. "That means your twin tails wouldn't work anymore. They'd look stupid."

"Yeah, I know." Kagami looked a little irritated, but shrugged off the indirect insult. She sighed. "It was such a relief to wake up..."

"The best thing about having a nightmare is waking up from it!" Tsukasa agreed. "It's such a good feeling to know it was all fake." Kagami nodded in full agreement with her sister.

"It figures that a scary dream for Kagami would be about something so vain, though." Konata remarked, glancing off to the side.

"What was that?" The twin-tailed girl twitched.

Konata ignored her and kept going. "The only thing that'd really work for you in that case would be that samurai ponytail of yours...though it would be shorter..." she imagined it with a slight blush and not-so discreet giggle. Her friend frowned.

"Hey, I thought we weren't going to mention that again."

"But Kagamin." Abruptly, Konata grabbed her friend's shoulders. Her amused little expression very suddenly switched gears to one of steely-eyed seriousness. Even her voice seemed to deepen ever so slightly. "The truth is, ponytails really turn me on!"

"Eh?!" Was all the stunned girl could respond with.

"That time you wore that ponytail--it looked so good it was criminal!" The blue-haired girl's voice became more passionate.

Kagami became a stuttering mess. "Wh-what are you saying--you couldn't possibly mean--it didn't look so--I mean, you really think--what...what...what are you referencing?" The tsundere's tone immediately dropped from flattered to flattened as realization dawned on her.

Konata's impassioned eyes turned back into the usual horizontal scribbles. "Hyunnnn."

That morning, accompanying Konata to her classroom were Tsukasa, Miyuki, and a large sore spot on her head. She rubbed it a few times, wearing an indignant pout.

_That probably sent me a few points back. Maybe I should try to keep anime and manga references out of my attempts from now on..._ The little otaku tilted her head off to the side, rivers running down along the sides of her bittersweet cat smile, _...but I just don't know if I can help that, Kagamin!_ She held her little fist up to her chin and clenched it. Tsukasa didn't know what to say.

"Ko-kona-chan...?"

* * *

December had been moving along quickly. The middle of the month was nearing, and the usual panic had settled upon many students dreading their final exams before break. Konata, however, was un-fazed as per usual. The waning school term did not keep her from her devotion to her job any more than it kept her from her beloved games. Well, almost.

It was a breezy evening. The sun had already set, and another hard afternoon's work was over with. In the back room of the cafe, Haruhi and Mikuru were busy transforming back into Konata and Patricia. Konata was beyond pleased. When she had arrived at work that afternoon, she, Patty, and that mysterious quiet girl were given the gifts of two tickets to the indoor theme park, Tokyo Joy00000. Their manager had called it an early bonus in lieu of the holidays and for being so remarkably popular with the customers. Business had steadily grown since their employment, and the kind manager knew that at least two of the three of them would appreciate such a gift. Naturally, both blue and blonde were thrilled. At first.

Patty, who was in the middle of pulling the ties out of her hair, did not look as euphoric as one would expect. In fact, she let out a heavy sigh while fluffing her hair back to normal. It wasn't hard for Konata to pick up on her attitude.

"Patty, what's wrong?" She asked. Patty's lip quivered.

"Konata, it's horrible! A tragedy!"

"S-season two was all a lie?!" Konata gasped.

"Well, not that horrible...but Konata, my parents won't let me use these!" Patty held the tickets to her friend's face.

Konata frowned, "Why not? They let you work here."

Patty looked despairingly to the floor. "I just got off the phone with them. Final examinations are coming up, they say my grades haven't been good enough and I need to stay home and study until the trimester is over! And these expire before then!"

"I guess the manager has been out of school so long that he forgot what this time of year is like for most people our age." Konata assumed, sighing a little. "Are you sure they won't let you go?"

Patty nodded sadly, her head still hung, "I'm sure." She clenched her fists and shook them up and down, finally looking up at Konata with a squiggled frown on her face. "It's not as if I didn't study! I don't get these Japanese history tests! They didn't ask what year Britannia invaded, or about Japan's legendary baseball game with America in the Edo Period, or anything important! I would've aced it otherwise!"

Konata's eyes squinted as she scratched her chin. "Ah...Patty...I learned a long time ago that anime isn't always a reliable source for history tests..."

Patty looked at Konata as if she had just given her some sage advice in Norwegian. Something did not compute. She let it slide, and continued elaborating. "Konata!"

Konata sweatdropped a little and asked, "Yes, Patty?"

"I want you to use these in my stead!" Patty thrust the tickets in the shorter girl's face once again. "They mustn't go to waste!"

Now, Konata could have been polite as a proper young lady should, and tried to refuse them. But that wasn't her style. Her left hand took the tickets, and her right hand squeezed the left hand of her otaku comrade in the manner that two Shonen Jump heroes would.

"It's a promise!" She declared. Patty naturally returned the exaggerated emotion.

"Thank you, my good friend!"

Konata didn't take long to figure out where the other three tickets would go. Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki, of course. As usual, there was a bit of a selfish agenda there. Miyuki and Tsukasa were deliciously moe, and seeing them face amusement park rides would be entertaining, to say the least. More importantly, scary rides would give Konata and Kagami a reason to split from the other two for a while. From there it would be easy enough to bully Kagami onto a ride that was slow, dark, and potentially….

Konata's plan grew throughout the evening.

_I WILL level up that day!  
_  
**Footnotes**: Hey, it's Konata's author here. Sorry this chapter took longer than the others. I had finals, and this was a Konata-heavy chapter, so it had to wait for me to have time to work on it.  
We were originally going to make chapter 4 be the amusement park chapter. Unfortunately there was just too much time to pass between the slumber party and the time of year that the amusement park chapter was going to take place, so we wanted to cover some events in between.  
Therefore, we made a small collection of Konata's schemes and attempts, leading up to an introduction of her amusement park plan. So get ready for chapter five. It will be EPIC.

Next Time: Good evening, I'm Miyuki. Did you know that fanfiction can be dated back to medieval times, when authors began writing their own versions of King Arthur's stories? Nowadays, the demographic for those who write fanfiction are those born between the years of 1985 and 1992. Oh my, I wonder if I should start writing my own, then?

Next Chapter: The Biggest Thrill. O-tanoshimi ni!


	5. The Biggest Thrill

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Lucky Star. I don't even wish I did. Too much pressure.

**Author's Notes:** HAPPY BIRTHDAY KONATA! We really wanted to get this one out today, and we just barely made it (by Eastern US standards). Anyway, LONG CHAPTER AHEAD. Haha, but no worries. This one is full of fluff. If you like it, please review. We love hearing from you, so don't be shy. Remember to give Konata love and cake.

Chapter 5: The Biggest Thrill

"Everybody, you should come with me. Call your parents and say you'll be getting home late, okay?" Izumi Konata announced to her friends as she hefted her bag over her shoulder. School had just let it's students out into a crisp Saturday afternoon.

"Huh? Why should we do that?" Kagami asked, she and the others turning their attention to Konata.

"It'll be fun. There's a neat thing we can all do for free."

Tsukasa looked a little excited. She didn't have any money, so free activities always sounded good. "What is it, Kona-chan?"

"It's an amazing magical adventure that will bring your imagination to life!" Izumi Konata's gestures were exaggerated, like the kids in cereal commercials.

Kagami sighed. "Konata, our finals are in just a week. We don't have time to go have fun."

Konata wagged her finger, "That doesn't matter. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will be out of our reach in no time. We won't be able to do this later!"

Kagami placed her hands on her hips impatiently. She was intrigued, but not enough so to admit it. "You're not going to explain yourself, are you?" Naturally, the other two girls were growing more enthused with Konata's vague description.

Konata shrugged and shook her head, "Isn't the surprise part of the fun? You'll regret it if you say no, you know. You'll spend the rest of your life thinking, 'I wonder what we would have done that time...maybe it would have been awesome. It was one of the last chances I had to do something special with all my friends in high school, and I passed it up because I--'" The blue-haired geek's unflattering impersonation was cut short.

"Alright alright, I get it already!" Kagami placed her hand to her forehead. "Just how long will this little excursion take? We really shouldn't be out late."

"Not too long. It'll be fine." It was the same kind of answer she always gave right before spending three or more hours in any given anime store.

Kagami crossed her arms and thought a moment. This was no doubt a scheme of Konata's, and the cryptic description was certainly a sugar-coated disguise for an activity that the tsundere would normally shoot down with a pinpointed "NO." Konata didn't usually call these things, "once in a lifetime," though. Maybe this really was something she'd regret not attending..._No! This is exactly how she wants me to think. There are too many important tests coming for me to waste my time on some mystery adventure with Konata._ Feeling decisive, Kagami once more assertively placed her hands on her hips and turned to her friend. "Look, it's nice of you to offer, but--"

"Yeah dad, Oneechan and me are going to hang out with Kona-chan and Yuki-chan for a little while longer. Okay?" Tsukasa already had her little pink cell phone pressed to her ear, a naively excited smile on her face.

"Ts-Tsukasa!!" Kagami's scolding was drowned out by the sound of approval from their father on the other line. Tsukasa nodded gleefully.

"Thank you dad! See you later!" She hung up. Tsukasa turned around, beaming...only to be met by her glaring twin. She hiccupped innocently. "W-what?"

Kagami hung her head, defeated once again. "Never mind."

Konata simply stuck her chin out and gave Tsukasa a thumbs-up. Tsukasa was simply confused.

The implied "excursion," had been more of a trek. The quartet's lengthy train ride was followed by numerous transfers only minutes after getting off. Even after Konata assured a grumpy Kagami that their destination was nearby, the group still found themselves walking for nearly twenty more minutes.

"Jeez, are we there yet?" Kagami groaned. "The time you said this entire trip would take was used up just to get to where we are now!"

Konata had been ignoring the complaints entirely by changing the subject. Now that they were two minutes from the attraction, she bothered to answer Kagami. "I never said it would only take two hours. I just said it wouldn't be long. In the grand scheme of things two hours is no time. Besides, it's just around the corner. Don't you feel silly for all that complaining now? You'll thank me when we get there."

Tsukasa trotted up to walk excitedly alongside Konata, Miyuki following. Kagami deliberately trailed behind, berating herself for being Konata's sucker once again. She didn't mind going out somewhere with Konata, and the smaller girl had seemed a little more lively about today's activity, which was a little cute...but this was a bad time. _I've got no doubt that we'll just wind up helping her to buy a couple hundred more kilograms of otaku paraphernalia. Does she even care about what time of the year it is? Ugh, this is my own fault. Why do I always wind up going along with her bad...ideas... _Kagami's thoughts trailed off as the group stepped out of an elevator Konata had guided them to, finally revealing their destination.

A large, impressive gate loomed over the four of them. A festive name hung atop the gate in bold, blue letters, and beyond it was a celebratory rainbow of activity. Before them were three stories of games, rides, and various other stands and activities. A domed roof crowned the building, hardly enough to contain the jovial sounds that echoed endlessly through its floors and walls. The girls felt dwarfed by the sheer height of the park.

Konata held out her right arm towards the entrance, and flashed four tickets with her left hand. "We're going to spend the evening at S0g0 Jo00olis, and you're going to be grateful, Kagamin."

Kagami's eyes were nearly as wide as the pink and violet haired girls beside her. "You're taking us to...a theme park?" This actually seemed like more of a gift than a scheme.

"Yup. I thought you'd enjoy it," Konata chirped selflessly.

"Wooow! Kona-chan, how cool! Thank you!" Tsukasa gazed at the entrance, glitter dancing in her eyes.

"Oh, this should be very exciting! Izumi-san, how kind of you...what is this all for?" Miyuki smiled at Konata.

"It is to make some great memories together before we graduate," The questionable line fell from her lips smoothly. Although her friends had no way of knowing, it wasn't far off from her real motive.

Kagami regarded Konata through half-lidded eyes. "Not that I don't appreciate this, Konata, but it's pretty unlike you to just give something like this away without some kind of ulterior motive. Gonna 'fess up?"

"Oh, Kagami never thinks well of me...I had four tickets, and these kinds of outings are more fun in a group, aren't they?" It was an undeniably reasonable answer.

"Well yeah, but did you forget that we have tests soon? We really shouldn't be wasting our time like this. It should have waited till after the trimester ended..."

"But they expire in just a few days. Would you really refuse a gift from a friend that worked very hard to get it?" Konata leaned in, her eyes growing large. "Would you want to _discourage_ my hard work?"

Kagami looked uneasy with both the situation and the proximity. "I-it's not that, it's just--"

Miyuki chimed in helpfully, "Kagami-san, you're so studious, I'm sure you'll have no problem if you let Izumi-san treat you tonight. We could all use a breather." It was best to make peace and accept heartfelt gifts. Time together sounded wonderful, not to mention that Tsukasa was looking a little emotional over the fate of the evening. "I have also read that statistically, students and people in general perform better when they allow themselves some time to rest in between work, lest they get burned out by working non-stop."

Kagami glanced from Miyuki's diplomatic grin to Tsukasa's genuinely pleading eyes, to Konata's not-so-genuine ones. Crushed under the weight of peer pressure and guilt, she conceded yet again. "Fine, let's have a break then."

There was much rejoicing. It played out in a manner such as to catch attention. Arranged by increasing size and lightness of hair, the three girls each hopped one after the other. An ad writer for a prominent cell phone company passed by and got a grand idea for his next commercial.

* * *

A wonderful time was had by all. The group's first stop was a para-sailing simulator. Konata gained much enjoyment from watching Tsukasa and Miyuki constantly fall victim to the false sense of fluctuating gravity, while Kagami did her best to keep her skirt from flying up. Next was an Ini0ia0 -D- racing game, in which many asses were kicked by Konata. After that she lead the group to a carnival games area. Kagami battled with the urge to feed her money to the numerous claw machines and other games of chance around her, while Konata won a few stuffed toys. Lucky Tsukasa received any toys that Konata did not want. Miyuki politely declined Konata's pressuring for her to try a snowboarding simulator, and the group opted for a dinosaur-themed attraction instead. Somewhere in the midst of the fun, hunger settled upon the girls. Konata lead them to a crepe stand. While glancing over the different flavors available, Tsukasa had a sudden exclamation.

"Ah! Uh oh..."

"What's wrong?" Kagami turned to her sister, who was wearing an embarrassed little smile.

"Eh heh...it looks like I spent the rest of my money on that cell phone strap in the gift shop..." The short-haired girl had enthusiastically latched onto a cute replacement for the strap she had lost a few days ago, not taking notice as she emptied the contents of her wallet for it.

"Don't worry, Tsukasa. I've still got just enough for one..." The older twin began rummaging through her own wallet.

"N-no, Oneechan...we don't really have the same favorite flavors, so we couldn't share...you don't have to!" The younger twin did her best to insist.

"I said it was okay, didn't I? Besides, I'm on a diet. I shouldn't be eating too many sweets."

"You could share with me, Kagami," Konata chimed, "We both like strawberry, and I know you don't get a chance to have these often."

Kagami looked up as she handed a few yen over to her sister. "Is that a serious offer? You're not just gonna make fun of me for eating sweets?"

"Not unless you eat over half of it."

The girl deliberated briefly, eyes darting from Konata to the menu on the crepe stand. Ultimately, her stomach won the battle. "Okay, sure. Just don't get on my case over this, alright?"

"Fine, fine, but you owe me," Konata conceded, as if a lack of teasing was a greater debt than the money spent.

"I'll take it as credit toward all the homework you owe me." Kagami jabbed playfully.

Soon the girls had their snacks and were delving into the western pastry delights. Tsukasa rambled about her crepe, and Miyuki listened politely. Kagami was trying to participate, but she was preoccupied with the mental tug-o-war between enjoying her crepe half and worrying over the unfortold quantity of calories within. Konata was merely observant. She didn't taste the crepe so much as she tasted opportunity.

"Try some, Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa offered the cream and chocolate-filled crepe to her friend.

"Oh certainly. Though they filled this so high, we should be careful not to spill..."

"Ah, you're right! Um...careful now..." Tsukasa gently tilted the dessert toward her friend, hands quivering. "Eh..."

Miyuki brushed her hair out of the way while leaning over to take a small bite. Combined, the duo failed fantastically at appearing graceful. Tsukasa's lightly shaking hands were all it took to allow Miyuki's nose to bump the crepe, tilting it to just the right angle to let a blob of the cream inside fall onto her chest.

"Ah! S-sorry Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa immediately began searching for a napkin.

"No, it's quite alright. We'll just dab at it a little, and--Oh!" The pink haired girl exclaimed as her elbow knocked the hand that Tsukasa was holding the crepe with, spilling some onto her as well. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Eeeh!"

Konata stared with a lecherous smile, her own crepe drooping a little. "This is classic."

Kagami immediately grabbed Konata's hands, fixing them to an upright position just in time to stop a mess from dripping out of their own dessert. "Hey, you're about to spill too you know!"

"Ah!" Konata was surprised for a moment. Was it about the spilling, or the fact that Kagami had suddenly grabbed her hands? As usual, she regained her poise in the blink of an eye and smiled a little suggestively at her friend. She extended the fingers of her left hand so that they wove themselves through Kagami's fingers. She squeezed. "Thanks, Kagamin."

Kagami immediately went beet red. Konata's implicative face and weaving fingers were enough to completely undo her defenses. Her sturdy hands began to tremble. "Ah...ah...y-you.."

Konata's fingers pet the back of Kagami's hand a little, "Hnn?"

"Y-..your...your hand...?"

"Is spectacularly soft despite playing so many games? Flawlessly, I might add."

"T-that's not what I was saying!"

"Jeez, Kagamin. You're so awkward sometimes. I guess that's your moe-point though." Konata chuckled as she pulled her hand back. It wouldn't be good to overdo it. That could backfire. She was so close now...

Kagami was left staring blankly over a pair of very rosy cheeks. It took her a little while to notice that some cream had spilled onto her sleeve.

* * *

The group's next stop was a virtual aquarium, an attraction that brought particular delight to both Tsukasa and Miyuki. The yellow-ribboned girl flitted about the virtual scenery, following whichever fish she found to be the cutest at the moment.

"Oh wow, what's this blue one? That one has a beak! Oooh, look at that tail! This one has huge eyes! They're so cute! Kona-chan, Oneechan, did you see this blue one?"

"Yes, Tsukasa. We saw it every time you pointed it out." Kagami looked on with crossed arms. This had been fun at first, but they were pushing on 20 minutes of gawking at some digital fish. Tsukasa had shown no signs of boredom, and likewise Miyuki would rattle on numerous facts about each species of fish that the lilac-haired girl showed interest in. Kagami sighed a little and glanced at Konata.

"I'm bored," Konata blurted through a triangle-shaped mouth.

"Yeah, me too." Kagami opted not to comment on Konata's bluntness.

"Let's go do something else."

"Okay...they look like they're having a good time here, anyway."

Konata and Kagami arranged to meet Miyuki and Tsukasa a little while later, and headed out of the aquarium.

"Oh man! I felt bad saying anything in there, but that got so boring!" Kagami heaved a sigh. "Sometimes I don't get how they can stay endlessly entertained by that kind of thing."

"It's because they're simple-minded. Also, it's part of their moe-factor."

"Yes yes, the moe factor. So what else do you wanna do?"

Konata pointed to a few places on the map, "We could do some shooting games. You seemed a little sore about losing to me in everything we played earlier. You might stand a chance in those."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Kagami shot a playful smirk to her friend.

"If you want to call it that," Konata returned with a smug grin.

The two marched off together.

The arcade area provided them with no shortage of video games. Kagami put up a valiant fight in each shooting game that was played, but Konata naturally insisted that their gaming experience not be limited to a single genre. Of course, the shorter girl dominated each new category. Several coins later, Kagami's confidence was shot with a few holes.

"H-hey, can we do something else now..?" She asked, scratching her cheek lightly.

"Actually, there's a ride here that you'll really like." Konata answered, turning to her friend with a smile.

"Huh? What is it?"

"You'll see. Follow me," Konata replied ambiguously and casually took Kagami's hand to lead her. Kagami blushed and opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it and allowed herself to be lead.

As it turned out, it was indeed a ride that Kagami could enjoy very much - a roller coaster with a built in shooter, in which riders had to fire at targets as they rode. Neither of the girls could be matched in talent as they rode, skillfully working together to hit each target in sight...and neither of them thought that the other would notice as they leaned into each other on sharp turns. The pair was laughing jovially as they exited.

"Konata, that was great!" Kagami smiled brightly at the little otaku, her twin tails bouncing. "Thanks for showing me this one!"

"Yeah, it was fun! I knew you'd be the best partner for success," Konata agreed with an unusually winning smile.

"So, what do you want to do next?" Kagami asked, her voice uncharacteristically cute with excitement.

_Aaah, she's so cute._ Konata couldn't help but think to herself. "Well, I thought we could--"

"Oh wait a minute..." Kagami glanced up at a large digital clock. "It's time to go meet Tsukasa and Miyuki now."

Realization blinked through Konata's head. _Aah! I forgot. This isn't good! Hn... looks like it's time for plan B._ Konata nodded more to herself than to Kagami. "Oh, right."

"Let's go then." Kagami herself sounded a little disappointed. Walking alongside Konata, she cast several glances in the shorter girl. _Well, it was nice while it lasted...now I'm almost wishing we'd come here alone... Wait, I shouldn't think like that! Don't think like that!_

The two pairs of girls found each other not far from where they had split. Both Miyuki and Tsukasa looked as if they had been having as much fun as the other two. "What are we doing next, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked, clinging to a floppy zebra plush Konata had given to her earlier.

"We're going to ride that." Konata pointed to a sign in the corner that read the english words 'Spin Bullet.' Upon closer inspection, they could see that it was a ride in which a car spun in circles while revolving around a central axis.

Tsukasa looked a little intimidated. "Th-that?"

"Hey, don't you think that looks a little intense?" Kagami looked doubtful. "I mean, I could handle it, but the other two..."

"Oh, it'll be fine. See, there are wheels in each car. The rider turns the wheel as fast as they want to spin. If they don't turn it at all, it's more like a peppy carousel ride."

"Oh, well that doesn't sound so bad."

"Why do they call it a 'bullet' then?" Kagami asked in a dry tone, standing in line with Konata regardless.

"Cuz it sounds cool, and cuz you can make it intense if you want to. Kagami and I can ride together to go fast, and Tsukasa and Miyuki-san can take it easy in another car," Konata replied airily.

The otaku's trio of friends conceded to her reasoning and decided to give 'Spin Bullet' a chance. The line went quickly. The girls paired off once more and settled in their respective seats. Tsukasa fidgeted despite reassurances, and jumped (along with Miyuki) a little when the ride began to rumble to a start. Kagami was cheerful, and Konata was placid.

Close to four minutes later, everyone was exiting the ride. While Konata and Kagami were sturdily on their feet, Miyuki tripped and stumbled some. Where Miyuki tripped and stumbled, Tsukasa nearly toppled to the floor with each step.

"Ooooh, I'm so dizzy...urp...Oneechan, I think that ride made me sick..." The girl whimpered, little droplets at the corners of her eyes.

"Oh jeez, I was afraid it'd be too rough...hey, maybe we should go home now. We've been here for a while, right Konata?"

"But the park doesn't close for another two hours. Don't you want to make the most of these tickets?" Konata protested.

"Well yeah, and I've been having lots of fun. But Tsukasa and Miyuki--"

"Kagami-san, excuse me..." Miyuki interjected lightly. "Tsukasa-san could come home with me if the two of you want to stay here. I live much closer to this area of town, after all, and my parents would certainly drive Tsukasa-san home to save her the stress of a train ride."

"That's really nice of you, Miyuki, but we don't want to impose." Though Kagami's words said one thing, it was evident on her face that she was considering the offer.

"Oh no, really...it's fine, Kagami-san." Miyuki touched the fingers of her right hand to her cheek. "I was starting to feel a little tired myself, but you and Izumi-san seem to be enjoying yourselves. I'm more than glad to keep everyone happy."

"Oh, Miyuki-san, you're so wonderful," Konata praised her friend.

"It's okay with me, Oneechan...-hic-...I can go with Yuki-chan..." Tsukasa wobbled unsteadily. Kagami ceased arguing.

"Alright, if this is what'll keep everyone happy..."

Miyuki pulled out her cell phone. "I'll dial home and they'll come get us shortly, Tsukasa-san. I have many remedies for motion sickness at home."

"Thank you so much, Yuki-chan," Tsukasa gushed with a quivery smile.

Nobody noticed Konata's expression twist into a devilish smile. Her mouth was stretched, her eyes were fierce, and her inner thoughts rang with vicious triumph. _Just as planned._

Yes, she had planned the whole thing since the moment Patty said she couldn't keep the tickets. Now she just had to wait for Miyuki to escort Tsukasa out the door. They turned. They began walking. Konata watched with bated breath. Everything moved in slow motion. A sweat drop formed and ran down Konata's cheek. _This is the longest 40 seconds of my life..._

The door swung, and the two girls disappeared behind it.

"Well, they're gone." Kagami stated, arms at her sides. "I hope Tsukasa will be okay..."

_Yeah, they're gone._ Konata snickered mentally. _Next, Kagamin..._ Outwardly, she just waved her hand, "Miyuki-san's so rich, I'm sure they'll have her feeling great in no time."

Kagami sweatdropped. "I think you mean to say she's so 'knowledgeable'... either way, you're probably right this time." The girl shifted a little uneasily, looking down at Konata. They were alone now. There was no doubt that a part of her had wanted this... so why did she feel a little nervous, now? It was completely normal for the two of them to hang out alone. She should just take it easy and enjoy some time with her friend, right? It wasn't odd to be alone with Konata now, right? Kagami began fidgeting with her jacket.

Konata didn't fail to notice. She smiled a little, "Are you okay, Kagamin? Did that ride shake you up too? Maybe I turned it a little too fast for you."

"N-no! I'm fine!" The girl answered hastily. "Well, you wanted to get your ticket's worth so badly...what else did you have in mind, here?"

Konata's voice transformed into a deep ghostly drawl. "Hnhunhun...Do you think you can handle the haunted rides?"

Kagami placed her hands upon her sides. "Please, don't confuse me for my sister. Of course I can."

"The horror ride here is supposed to be especially bad, is all."

"I'll believe -that- when I see it." Kagami stated haughtily, following Konata to the attraction.

"You sure sound confident. I still think you'll get scared though. Wanna bet a soda on it?"

"Bet a soda on it? Come on, you sound like a little kid."

"You're just afraid you'll lose."

Kagami sighed lightly. "Fine, fine, you're on. Whatever makes you happy."

Konata smiled and lead Kagami to an ominous corner on the fifth floor.

The attraction appeared to be a walk-through, one of those tunnel-like things where the lights would go out completely and various disturbing elements would leap out in an attempt to frighten the attendees. A certain tsundere was not impressed.

"Is this supposed to be intimidating?" Kagami asked, an eyebrow raised. Konata didn't answer and simply walked her inside. As expected, the 'ride' was a walk-through to be spent in pitch blackness for nearly the entire experience. On instinct, the two girls walked closely together. A few other people, mostly couples, were walking with them. Kagami was confident that nothing would succeed in frightening her. "I've done stuff like this before, you know." She said as the attraction fell into ominous darkness and some of the other girls around her began whining uneasily.

"Your arrogance will be your downfall," Konata said seriously through a kitten-ish smile that could hardly be seen. She walked ever so slightly ahead of her friend, so when a breeze picked up, wisps of her hair crept out of the darkness to brush past Kagami.

Kagami twitched a little bit. She didn't quite jump, but the unexpected tickle caught her off guard. Thankfully, she didn't make any audible sound. "Konata, are you walking ahead of me?" She asked, her eyes straining to make anything out. A few ghostly sounds and whispers emanated from the walls around them while she spoke.

Instead of replying like a normal person would, Konata decided to impersonate a scenery-appropriate anime. "When one person is cursed, two graves are dug..." She sounded more like a part of the scenery than a person, but too realistic for anything that could be coming from the speakers.

"You're not funny. Come over here and walk next to me, your hair is annoying."

Konata shrugged and drifted back, just in time to allow a severed head to pop up in front of Kagami.

Kagami did not react as the otaku had hoped. "The least these things could do is to be a little less predictable." She examined the fake head arrogantly. Her matter-of-fact tone would easily kill any scary atmosphere around her, luckily the other guests around her did not seem to be listening. She continued walking. Amidst feeling her way blindly through the hall and rolling her eyes at the whimpering of the other girls around them, Kagami suddenly felt something grazing her...

"Hey! Did someone just grab my--"

"Ssssh, don't shout unnecessarily, Kagami." Konata scolded. Oddly enough, she didn't sound very sincere in her reproval...as if she had just done something worse than shouting out at a horror attraction.

The rest of the way remained uneventful, both girls treating it as casually as a walk in the park. The immature bet was certain to come to a stalemate, until the very end. With one final pop-out atrocity, one of the girls who had been traveling closer to Kagami let out a piercing shriek not but a few inches from the pigtailed girl's ear. Kagami, taken completely by surprise this time, shrieked in turn and threw her arms around Konata, squeezing both of her shoulders.

Konata's eyes popped wide open in delighted surprise rather than fear. She had been counting on the screams of others eventually getting to Kagami, but she had not counted on such an unexpectedly intimate reaction. Her eyes and mouth quickly softened into a smile, and she loosely put her arms around Kagami as well. Petting her back a little, she crooned, "Awww...I guess scared little Kagamin owes me a soda now, huh?"

"H-hey!" Kagami's voice was still quivering while Konata held her, even though the shock from the scare had already worn off. "Someone screamed in my ear! That doesn't count!"

"Yes it does." Konata quipped. "Part of the ambiance of a haunted attraction are the people themselves." There was no end to the smugness oozing from her little voice.

"You... you little..." Kagami seethed. She stood upright. The arms that had tightly held the smaller girl's shoulders now loosened a bit, as did Konata's. Their hands softly held each other's arms. Their eyes locked. Kagami's anger suddenly melted like the last bite of a popsicle off of the stick. Standing at the edge of the ride's exit, the two girls froze for a moment. Kagami could feel her breathing begin to speed up. "Konata..."

"Hm?"

"I..." Each breath was fervently hung on. Kagami's mouth was still open, her sentence teetering on the verge of finishing... when one of the young men exiting the ride suddenly bumped the pigtailed girl's shoulder.

"Oh, excuse me." He said before moving on.

Jarred, Kagami finished her sentence. "I-I don't have enough money with me for a drink, you know."

Konata waved a hand dismissively. "You'll have to pay me back later."

"Or maybe I'll just put it toward that credit you're building up."

"Tsk tsk, that's not in the spirit of the bet. Now come on, next!"

* * *

Konata was not bluffing when she had said she wanted to maximize her time. The last hour and a half that the park was open was crammed with activity. The pair took a shot at the snowboarding ride that Miyuki had earlier declined.

"It almost scares me to think about how naturally this athletic stuff comes to you." Kagami commented to a haughty Konata after the ride had ended. She caught her heart fluttering at the cute little confident grin her friend wore all the way to their next activity.

The two of them had caricatures drawn at Konata's insistence and amidst Kagami's multiple protests.

"Come on, this is stupid! Why do we need drawings of ourselves as dumb cartoon characters?" The tsundere complained.

Konata leaned over to whisper in the artist's ear, "Try not to make this one look _too_ fat when you draw her, kay?"

"I can _hear_ you."

"I'm only trying to ensure your happiness!" Konata struck an innocent pose.

Needless to say, the arcade section was visited again. Two dozen video games later, Kagami was feeling just a tad bored. She had run out of coins, after all. Glancing around, she found herself locking onto a certain plush trapped within a claw machine. It was a small, squat little plush of Bonta-kun in war gear. Kagami stared.

Naturally, Konata followed Kagami's eyes to the object of interest, assessed the situation, and answered to the call of Opportunity. Without a word, she stepped in front of Kagami and flicked a few coins into the machine's slot.

Kagami tilted her head curiously and asked, "Do you see something you like in there?"

"Sorta," Konata said as she began to maneuver the joystick. Her hand moved with a brand of purpose and accuracy one wouldn't expect from a girl that seemed to have her large eyes closed. The claw glided smoothly, and then descended towards Bonta-kun's helmet.

Kagami watched with breath more baited than she intended.

The claw closed securely over the plush bear head, and carried the toy steadily towards the chute until it was time to drop. Konata gave a victorious little, "Hn!" and reached in to pull the toy out.

_Probably just showing me up again._ Kagami thought with a sigh. Before she knew it, however, the toy was in her hands. She blinked down at it, stunned. A moment later, her wide blue eyes darted up to the grinning face of the person who had just given it to her. "H-huh?" She stuttered. "For me?"

"Well yeah. It's not something I'm actively collecting, and it would be impossible to get 3 right now. See, the others are kinda buried," Konata explained with a shrug and a few other gestures.

"So you're just...giving it to me?" A blush was creeping up upon the girl's cheeks, and she could do little to stop it.

Konata smiled with an understanding Kagami hoped she didn't have. "Like it?"

"Yes." Realizing that her voice sounded a little too feathery and happy, Kagami continued. "I-... I mean-- I like the series and all, and I have one like it at home, but...it's okay."

"But yours is in the amusement park outfit instead of the combat gear, right?" Konata chimed.

"W-well yeah. So I...uh. T-thanks."

Konata wore her most charming smile, "You're welcome."

Kagami immediately shot her gaze to the floor in a desperate attempt to hide her blushing face. Her feet fidgeted against each other, and her fingers curled into the plush. "We...we should get going now, two hours are nearly up."

"Yeah, it's about to close too. Just let me get that soda before we go, okay?"

* * *

A short while later, the pair was walking slowly down Tokyo's sidewalks, on their way to the train home. Tucked under Kagami's arms were her new toy and the small caricature that they'd had drawn. Trying to hide a creeping smile, she stole a glimpse of it. Their silly, exaggerated faces were mushed against each other cheek to cheek, Konata's arm around Kagami's shoulders...just as they had posed. The girl gave her plush a squeeze.

_My test scores are going to suffer because of this, I just know they are... but this was worth it. Heh, I can't believe I'm thinking this._ Her eyes subtly cast themselves toward the little geek who walked beside her. _If only Konata could be like this more often. I know she has it in her. Maybe if she were a little charitable and kind more often, I'd be able to tolerate her on a regular basis. Oh, who am I kidding, I tolerate her no matter what. I'm totally, completely, pathetically in--_

"Hey, Kagamin."

Kagami's heart skipped more than one beat as her thoughts were cut off.

"H-huh?"

"Remember how I said you'd need to find a special someone to bring out your dere-dere side?" Konata blurted, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Ah..." Kagami thought back a while, struggling to recall. It was with a tiny blush that she finally remembered that Konata had said that to her during their sleepover. "Oh. Yeah... I remember. What about that?"

"And how you said it would take a very special person to be my husband?"

"Yes, I remember. What are you getting at?"

"Well, just in case you can't ever find a guy that patient, and I don't find anybody either, we have to stay friends forever so you won't go crazy with loneliness," she stated matter-of-factly, taking a long sip from her ginger ale.

Kagami looked a little taken aback, despite the mild insult. "What? Are you kidding around with me?"

"No."

"Friends forever, huh?" She seemed to ponder a moment, then smirked. "I think you might drive me a little crazy if I agreed to that."

"Or maybe," Konata began as she started to walk closer to her friend, so much as to brush against her with every step, "you'll go crazy without me."

Kagami flushed instantly. "W-well, don't you sound full of yourself. In case you'd forgotten, I'm already preparing myself for a new life once I make it into a university. To think I'd go nuts just because I can't be near you for a while..."

Konata's large eyes looked strait into Kagami's. "Yes."

"Yes, you're full of yourself or yes, I'll go...oh never mind. It sounds more like it's you who'll be lost without me, anyway."

Konata's hand kept brushing past Kagami's, and it was starting linger. Konata smirked a little bit, "You could look at it that way. It will be a little boring without you around to tease."

Kagami twitched a little, but quickly regained her composure...at least as best as she could while battling the rapid leaps of her heart for each time Konata's hand brushed hers. "I'm more concerned with how you'll fare academically without me around to pull you out of everything."

"If you're so concerned, you should just make the promise with me," Konata reasoned.

"You want me to promise to stay your friend?"

Konata nodded.

Kagami looked down and sighed. Though she was doing her best to sound exasperated, she was undoubtedly smiling. "You have nothing to worry about, Konata..." She raised her eyes to the blue-haired girl, revealing her pretty smile unabashedly. "...I'll always be your friend."

Konata actually felt her own heart flutter. _There it is..._

"There it is!" Kagami exclaimed. The two girls had made it to the train station, and the train was approaching. They still had to get through the turnstile. Konata's gaze snapped away from the pretty sight when she heard the rumble of the train. Remembering that the both of them still had tickets home, she grabbed Kagami's hand and ran. "A-ah!" a small cry escaped a surprised Kagami. As the pair scooted toward the edge of the track, she gently curled her fingers around the small hand that had curled around hers. The train pulled in, doors opened and the girls leaped on. They grabbed seats and sat down, laughing.

"Wow, just made it!"

"Nice one!"

The train jerked to a violent start, causing a good bit of Konata's ginger ale to splash onto her stomach. Konata was usually good at handling drinks and such in any situation, but her mirth had gotten the better of her. A sour expression replaced her smile.

"Aw jeez, Konata!" Kagami released her friend's hand, to which she had clung until now. She began digging through her coat pockets for a napkin.

Konata pulled up her shirt a little and started wringing it out onto the floor. Her exposed belly didn't escape the notice of other passengers.

"Hey, don't do that! Here." Kagami jutted her hand forward, grasping a couple of napkins.

"The napkins will just fall apart all over my shirt. This is better."

"No, it's not. Sit down." Kagami grabbed the edge of her friend's jacket and yanked her back into her seat. Before Konata could protest, the twin tailed girl began dabbing at the spill with her napkins.

Konata sighed and shook her head. In retrospect, this could turn out great. Kagamin was doting on her in a nice way. Maybe she should ham it up just a little. She was cold now...if she could just push that to the point of shivering...

"Hey, are you okay?" Kagami asked, concerned. By all appearances, Konata had suddenly become sort of distant after the spill.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Konata murmured as she rubbed her arms.

"Your jacket's all wet..."

"Yeah, and I guess that makes it kinda cold. I'm fine though," she reassured with an intentionally weak smile.

"Come on now, you don't look fine." The taller girl insisted in a chiding manner. "You know that you can get sick from stuff like this, right? Take that off and fold it, I'll let you use mine." Kagami began pulling her arms from her coat sleeves.

"Yeah, but then you'll get cold. Even without being wet, they keep it really cold at night. Don't be stupid. Why don't we just scoot in close and share?" She was carrying out her 'suggestion' before she had even finished suggesting it.

"Sh-share? Are you sure that's...I mean, people around us might think weird things.." Kagami scratched the side of her cheek with her index finger.

Konata snuggled up against the side of Kagami, "It seems pretty normal to me. You're the only one thinking weird things."

Warm shivers raced up and down Kagami's entire self as Konata's body heat pressed itself into her side. The twin-tailed girl could swear she felt every one of her hairs standing on end. The mutual sensation of pleasure and anxiety caused by her friend's actions worked to make Kagami's response difficult. "Sh-shut up.." She managed to droll out in a soft tone. "As if most of your thoughts aren't weird already..." Her meek voice trailed off.

"Think what you like," Konata said lazily as she made herself comfortable and closed her eyes. It was actually kinda nice that Kagamin had a little more meat on her bones than she did. Aside from the teasing factor, it made her soft.

A bit of an awkward silence passed. Rush hour had already passed, and the train emptied steadily as the ride continued. The soft roar of the train rolling along its tracks created an ambiance that seemed to echo endlessly through Kagami's mind. Her indigo eyes continuously darted back and forth, following the rapidly drifting scenery past the glass of the window. Kagami's head began drifting as well. Perhaps she was tired, perhaps it was subconscious. The whole process took a minute or two, but eventually the lilac-haired girl's cheek rested on top of Konata's own cerulean hair. Her breathing relaxed.

Konata smiled up at her sleeping friend and sighed contentedly. Although she took this as a final signal for the next step, she also deeply enjoyed the way things were. She basked in the feeling of that train ride. _I can't remember the last time I enjoyed doing nothing this much...usually I have to play a game or something to pass the time..._

Time passed. It was a pleasant eternity that had to end, and did. Konata's stop was drawing close, and so she begrudgingly began nudging Kagami awake.

Kagami's lashes fluttered as she took the few seconds required for recollection. "Hunh? Konata...?" She began to sit up.

Konata slipped the jacket off her shoulder and draped it fully on Kagami. "It's my stop."

"Oh..." Kagami rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The disappointment in her voice was slightly masked by the fading grogginess. She stood up and put her arms back through their sleeves. "I guess I'll see you later then..."

"Yeah..." Konata took a couple of steps forward, and then turned and motioned for Kagami to follow her to the door. Kagami followed. _I had fun with you today,_ was what she so desperately wanted to say, but for some reason the words would not fabricate.

"Today was fun, huh? Let's remember it, okay?" Konata grinned up at her taller friend as the train slowed to a stop.

"Uh...sure!" Kagami answered, a little smile sneaking its way back onto her mouth. "That was the whole reason you wanted me to come with you, wasn't it?"

"Uh huh. I'm glad you did. Thanks." The doors beeped open, and Konata took a step back onto the platform.

Kagami cocked a brow at her friend, who was now facing her through the open doorway. "Wait a minute, are you actually thanking me fo--"

Kagami was cut off. Something soft and warm was preventing her mouth from moving. Konata held her lips to Kagami's for an instant, and then leaned back to let the doors close between them. She smiled brightly through the window, waved, and said some things that couldn't be heard behind the door and the buzzing engine. As the train accelerated and carried her away, the last thing Kagami saw of the girl who had just kissed her was that same placid grin and waving hand.

* * *

For the first few minutes, Kagami did not move. Her legs were grounded, her arms remained fixed at her sides. Her eyes did not blink, nor did they look in any direction other than straight ahead. Her mouth, still hanging open by just half an inch, did not bother to close. For all purposes, she could have been a statue frozen in place. It wasn't until the jerking of the train nearly knocked her off of her feet that she reached out and grabbed one of the support rails. Nothing else about her position changed.

The walk from the station to her home was quite similar. Her doe-eyed expression remained as if chiseled in place. She held the handle of her small school bag with both hands, arms folded over her midriff and the bag hanging at the front of her thighs. Her steps were slow and slightly unsteady, as if she were sleepwalking. Kagami unlocked her door, entered her home, and removed her shoes. Her mother noticed her entrance and called out to her.

"Kagami, you're home so late! Tsukasa came home from Miyuki-chan's house feeling ill, I was beginning to wonder what was keeping you."

"Yeah..." Kagami replied, her voice hardly above a daze. Without stopping, she walked to her room, leaving her mother blinking curiously after her.

Once her door was shut, Kagami stepped steadily into the middle of her room. There she stood for just a moment, and then slowly folded herself down to her knees. She placed both hands atop them, still staring blankly ahead. At a gradual pace, her left hand began to lift up to her mouth. Once there, her fingertips daintily touched to her lips. They had been tingling the whole way home, in a manner similar to how one's foot feels when it falls asleep. Her heart, which she had thought could beat no faster than it had from the train to her room, began to thump more persistently from within her ribcage.

_That was my first kiss..._

The thought resonated throughout her. The hand on her lips trembled slightly.

_And... and it was on a train. And it was... it was with a girl._ As if a button had been pressed, Kagami's face immediately flashed to a bright red color.

_It was with HER!!_

Her hands clenched into fists, which she thrust back down to her knees with a righteous fury. _She STOLE it!! That lousy little...! She...! She..._

Her heart suddenly gave a flutter like the wings of a small bird. One of her hands raised to it. _She kissed me... _A smile that she couldn't fight curled back onto her lips. _She really... I never said she could! And in PUBLIC! Oh jeez, those people were probably watching me the whole way home while I stared at the wall like a cow on the tracks! I can't believe she would do that! I can't believe her! I can't believe... that she actually kissed me. She kissed me... Oh God, she KISSED me!!_

Kagami grabbed a pillow off of her bed just so that she could shove her steaming red face into it. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

**Footnotes: **FINALLY. This took so long to write. I really hope it's worth the read to you. Oh, and our Konata had a fun time typing out a tangent basted on the Death Note joke, but it interfered with the flow of the story too much. Still, she thought it was funny so she's posting it as a fic-let soon.

Next time on Lucky Star:

Hey, Konata here. It's my birthday. If you're obsessed enough to be reading fanfiction about me, you must like me a lot. You're probably going to get me a present. Just make sure you get me three of whatever it is, because if you get me only one, I have to spend my own money to get two more. Don't you hate it when people give presents that require you to spend more money for them to be any good?

Next Chapter: Thinking to Much. O-tanoshimi ni!


	6. Thinking Too Much

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Lucky Star. I'm watching it right now, but I don't own it. Kay I own the DVD, but that's about it.

**Author's Notes:** I am so sorry this took so long. It was a lot easier back when I was in school, I tell ya... We had two weddings to go to, jobs to look for, work to do, a whole bunch of real life crap. But you're not here to read about that. In good news! We have chapter 7 sorta written, so it won't be as long this time. I'm a total hypocrite for making this longer than 6 chapters but whatever it's not my fault. Enjoy, we'll try not to keep you waiting too long this time.

Chapter 6: Thinking Too Much

Sunday did not pass peacefully for Kagami. The previous night had consisted of countless hours of tossing, turning, failed attempts at reading, sporadic blushing, and staring upward as if to sear the plaster off of the ceiling. The troubled girl had finally gotten to sleep at an hour more suitable for the blue-haired midget whom had caused all of her anxiety. Though she had no school on Sunday morning, her alarm buzzed at 7 AM regardless. Kagami always preferred an early start. This particular day, however, she cursed the appliance for waking her back into the world of swirling confusion that Konata had cast her into. Despite this, she still got up as usual. It had been difficult to appear completely normal in front of her family.

Konata did not call that day. Not that Kagami had waited by the phone or anything, of course. Nothing was out of the ordinary at all. She had made many dutiful attempts at distraction throughout the day. In the late morning, she had completed her homework, and it had only taken her two hours longer than usual. In the afternoon she watched TV with Tsukasa, and had managed to keep her blushing and fidgeting almost completely unnoticed by her sister during the romantic goodbye-kiss scene of the movie they were watching. She had also -barely- knocked Tsukasa over while diving for the phone when it rang during commercials... after which she regretfully handed it off to Matsuri. In the early evening she had gone to study for tests, and she had managed to stop herself from scribbling Konata's name onto the corners of her papers all but two times. She had only jarred the table a small bit during dinner, when she shot out of her seat at the sound of the phone ringing and demanded "Is it for me??" before anyone was able to answer. Her appearance had been completely normal when she stole into her room for the rest of the night instead of watching TV with her family. Inside, she had dialed Konata's number and failed to press 'send' only nine times, and had failed texting her only three times.

Kagami stared at the blank screen of her cell phone, her finger trembling gingerly over the small button that could connect her to her current fixation. The battle was a long and tedious one, and eventually her fears claimed victory. She shut the phone and set it down. The scene projected itself onto her mind. Konata thanked her, she made a sarcastic remark, and suddenly she was being kissed. The doors closed, Konata spoke an inaudible sentence, and the scene was over in a flash. It had all happened so fast. All at once her world was changed and she hadn't had any time to react. Kagami's brows knitted. She lifted her hand to her mouth. She glanced up at the clock. It was 11:00. The girl's features grew solemn. Indigo eyes fell back to the small phone on the floor, which remained dormant.

_Why didn't she call me...?_

* * *

The next day began the new school week. A persistent chill hung in the December air. It was appropriate for the icy gloom that many students were feeling in regard to upcoming finals, but the impending relief of Winter break was not far off. Afternoon arrived and brought with it the much smaller, but still appreciated lunch break. The three students who comprised Ms. Kuroi's most colorful heads of hair had gathered in their usual place, their chatter already beginning. They were well into a conversation about fried chicken at Christmas time when Miyuki happened to catch view of the clock overhead.

"Tsukasa-san, Kagami-san is rather late today. Did she make it to school alright?"

Tsukasa blinked up. "Huh? Yeah, Oneechan came into school just fine today. She seemed a little tired, but... oh! There she is!"

Shyly peeking out from behind the frame of the door of the classroom was none other than Kagami. Concealing herself fully save for one blue eye and one dark-ribboned pigtail, she appeared to be hoping that her presence would go unnoticed by the trio she had been so tentatively eyeing. This was not to be so. Tsukasa waved cheerily to her sister, blatantly exposing her.

"Oneechan!"

Kagami jolted. She could swear she felt her hair stand on end as she forced herself into view, putting her best efforts into appearing normal. "H-hiya, everyone!" The girl smiled, silently praying that no embarrassed blush would find itself necessary for the situation. "Sorry I'm sorta late." Stepping closer to her seat near Konata, she fumbled with her chair while pulling it out. "Lecture ran a little long." Kagami cleared her throat unnecessarily.

"That sucks," Konata empathized without much empathy in her voice. Her nose was in the latest volume of the Haruhi manga.

Kagami peered over. "...isn't it rude to read during lunch?"

"Aw, Kagamin. Isn't it rude to interrupt people while they read?"

"Don't -you- tell -me- what's polite!" She answered instinctively. Why wasn't Konata even looking up at her?

"I'll be done soon. Calm down." Konata waved her hand dismissively, as she was prone to doing.

Tsukasa recognized her sister sizzling, and interjected with a pleasant conversation starter, "So, how about that movie we watched, Oneechan? Wasn't the part with the pumpkin really cute? I want to tell the others about it, but I'm not as good at describing things as you..."

"Eh... the movie?" Kagami searched her memory. "Oh come on, it was just some dumb romance film. You know I'm not into those things."

Tsukasa looked confused, "But...I saw you getting so emotional at some parts..."

"You were imagining it." The older twin answered stiffly.

Miyuki politely interjected. "I often find myself getting emotional over silly movies. Just the other day, I was tearing up over a children's movie."

"A kid's movie? Really?"  
"Yes," Miyuki touched a demure hand to her face. "The little girl's best friend was being transferred to another school. It's not something I would normally feel teary-eyed over, but for some reason..."

"I know just what you mean!" Tsukasa replied enthusiastically, "I felt kind of emotional about the movie last night too, so you shouldn't feel ashamed, Oneechan."

"I-I am not ashamed! It was just some dumb fairy tale. That's more your kind of thing. You probably only thought it was getting to me because of how it got to you."

"But I..." Tsukasa trailed off. She wasn't one to argue. "Well, maybe you're right..."

"It was a silly Cinderella story... Tsukasa got all misty when Cinderella had to ditch the prince at midnight." Kagami explained.

"Romantic movies are enjoyable, but they seem to leave you feeling a tad wistful, don't they?" Miyuki tilted her head.

"Yeah, that I can agree on." Kagami shot Konata a subtle look.

Konata's eyes were on one of the last pages of her manga. By all appearances, she was ignoring them.

"I hope they play more like it over Winter break!" Tsukasa smiled excitedly.

"Tsukasa, do you plan to spend the vacation in front of the TV?" Kagami spoke disapprovingly.

Tsukasa looked a tad sheepish. "Well, Mom and Dad haven't made any special plans for us... Yuki-chan, does your family have plans for the break?"

"Oh, my mother mentioned the possibility of skiing in Hokkaido during our time off." Miyuki answered.

"Really?" Kagami forced her attention away from Konata once more. "I'm jealous!"

"Yes, I'm excited too... though I have to admit, I'm quite nervous. I've heard that falling into the snow while skiing can be quite an unpleasant experience."

"Really? It looks so fluffy, I always thought it would be nice, even if it was cold," Tsukasa smiled.

"It's not a cloud, Tsukasa." Her sister coldly reminded.

"Actually, you could say it's like a really dense cloud, since clouds are essentially made of cold water, " Miyuki corrected, "And in that case, a cloud would not feel pleasant, much less fluffy either."

"Ah, whatever." Kagami scratched her head, continuing to ignore the growing knot in her stomach that Konata's silence had been feeding. "Maybe I should have chosen a different word."

The conversation lulled for a few seconds, and was punctuated by Konata turning the last two pages. With a sigh, she clapped her book closed and looked at Kagami.

"So did you cry?"

The sudden reappearance of Konata's voice brought a rush of red to Kagami's cheeks. She turned to the shorter girl as if she had just sprayed her with a hose. "D-did I what?"

"Did you cry?"

"Why would you ask me something like that?"

"Because if I had asked you earlier, it would have interrupted my reading flow."

"Make sense, will you?!"

Konata looked pleased with herself. "Did you cry when you watched that movie last night? I bet you did."

The tsundere looked taken aback. "O-of course I didn't! It was cheap sap! Jeez, did that manga put your brain so far out of commission that you missed half the conversation?" There was a heightened aggression in Kagami's exclamations, as well as her features.

"Ooh, you're so much more violent today! I must be right." Konata concluded.

"Like you would know!!" Kagami bared her fangs at the little otaku and slammed a hand onto her desk. True to Konata's statement, her voice raised to an inappropriate volume. Tsukasa, Miyuki, and a few others in the class glanced at her with concern. Feeling the eyes upon her, Kagami shrank back down into her seat. She looked at Konata, who was merely smirking. Why was she so angry? Konata wasn't acting any differently. That's right... she wasn't acting differently at all. From Sunday morning until now, she had acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Was she just hiding it?

On the trek home from school that day, Kagami hoped for some answers. The presence of the other two girls made the task a very difficult one, of course... almost as difficult as it was to read Konata's actions. The pensive tsundere found herself secluded from much of the usual banter.

"Yuki-chan, maybe you could come to our house to watch some more movies before you leave for your trip?" Tsukasa asked.

"I think I would enjoy that very much, Tsukasa-san. Thank you for the invitation." Miyuki answered with a smile.

"Hey, I'm invited too, right?" Konata interrupted as she pointed to herself with both hands.

"Of course, Kona-chan... you shouldn't even have to ask."

"Yeah, you're right. But we should also go out a lot. As much as we can before school ends." Konata added sagely. "There are so many events we haven't completed yet, and there's no way to win without doing them all."

"Yeah, you're right..." Tsukasa agreed. "Our school year really is almost over, isn't it?"

"Yes." Miyuki added. "I admit it's something that's been on my mind a lot. Once Winter break is over, we'll have exams, entrance exams, and then graduation. It's a lot to think about."

"Ah, graduation is also something that brings up confessions of love, isn't it?" Tsukasa clasped her hands together.

"Yes, you're right." Miyuki nodded. "It's most certainly seen as a last chance for many people."

"Exactly," Konata agreed, "That's what most of the events are for, after all. I wonder if anybody has been taking the Tsukasa or Miyuki-san route," she suggested with lowered eye lids, leaning towards her friends.

Kagami felt a tiny stab in her chest. All this talk of romance and graduation... romance involving the four of them, no less, and Konata hadn't even looked her way. At this point she would have at least made an implicative remark toward Kagami, right? She could have at least looked at her. Kagami found her own sharp indigo eyes glued to the shorter girl while her mind swam. _Why did you kiss me?_ The question circled repeatedly through her thoughts.

"Talk about your own life however you want," She spoke up, hoping to shift any attention to herself. "but leave the rest of us out of your galge fantasies and let us graduate in peace."

Konata took the bait and turned it on her friend. It turned out that she had simply baited and caught Kagamin.

"I didn't say anything about you. I mean, you are a tsundere, but that's a lot harder to work with in real life than in a galge."

"Well excuse me for not being marketable enough!" Kagami huffed indignantly. She stiffened her arms at her sides and hastened her pace, putting herself a few steps ahead of her friends. She decided to remain in silence for the rest of the trip, lest her emotions begin to get the better of her.

_I'll just give her the benefit of the doubt._ She twitched. _Tsukasa and Miyuki are still around, we're still at school, so there's every chance she's acting cool to hide everything. It's... it's unreasonable of me to think that she'd mention that kiss at school, or in front of anyone. Kissing isn't something you can talk about in front of just anyone, let alone girls kissing girls..._ The pigtailed girl made herself blush a little. _W-we have to be alone, somehow. That's got to be the only way that she'll mention kissing me. I... I'll just have to ask her the next time we're alone somewhere. Y-yeah._ Kagami found herself dreading her new decision just as much as she was hoping for it.

That night, Kagami most certainly did -not- wait by the phone until she fell asleep again.

* * *

The next day, Kagami did not make a lunchtime appearance at Ms. Kuroi's classroom. Tsukasa explained that she'd had some things to go over with her classmates that day.

Nothing of the sort was actually happening at the desks of Kagami, Misao, and Ayano. To the contrary, they were eating in an awkward silence which was dotted here and there with Misao's wary glances in her purple-haired friend's direction. There was no doubt that the stifling atmosphere was resonating purely from Kagami's stiff form. Ayano had opted to remain dutifully silent until the moment seemed appropriate for discussion, but her rowdier classmate had other plans. With no given cue or reason, Misao burst the silence between them like a pin to a balloon.

"So what the heck's up with you, Hiiragi?" She placed a fist to her hip.

"H-huh?" Kagami startled. She gave Misao her attention as if she'd just been woken from a very strange dream.

"Don't play clueless! Yer not yerself today, Hiiragi. I mean by now you'd have usually talked to me, at least. Right?"

Ayano calmly took a sip of her drink.

"I... I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all." Kagami dismissed the question. "It's a rough week for us, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, but that kinda stuff usually doesn't getcha down does it? In fact, it's kinda weird that you're even here eating with us in the first place! Not only that, you're giving off all that nasty karma... HEY, did you and the chibi have a fight or something?!"

Kagami choked on a bit of rice. She coughed a few times. By 'chibi' Misao naturally meant Konata, the haughty shrimp who made frequent habit of whisking Kagami's attention away from Ayano and herself for all sorts of activities. She flashed a fang-accented smirk at the reaction. "That's it, isn't it?"

"O-of course not!" The twin-tailed girl blurted after clearing her throat. "What would give an idea like that?! Did she say something to you?? She's got nothing to do with anything! What did she say to you?!" Kagami stood, putting both hands on her desk and leaning her weight forward a little. Her face was growing flushed.

Misao leaned back and lifted her right arm a little, obviously intimidated. "H-hey, I was only kidding, you know," she remarked. Kagami blinked at her. "Just kidding, Hiiragi," Misao repeated.

"...right." Kagami swiftly took her seat and bowed her head. Misao took a few moments to stare dumbfoundedly at her.

Ayano swallowed another sip of milk tea. "Act with caution, hm?" she murmured softly.

* * *

Kagami found herself in a foul mood that afternoon. She had hardly bothered to wait for Tsukasa and Konata to join her on the way home, and convinced herself that she had only done so for the former's sake. Nevertheless, she tried to remain patient.

_Just wait until you're alone with her... give her a chance to clear things up, screaming in her face is a bad idea. You'll get a chance, just stay calm, stay calm..._

"Kagami!"

The frowning tsundere's footsteps were suddenly cut short by the diminutive figure of Konata, who had run up and deliberately stood in her path. She now looked up at Kagami with a grin. Kagami's heart skipped.

"What do you want now, Konata?" She asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"I need a favor." Her shorter friend answered. Kagami rolled her eyes a little.

"What kind of 'favor'?"

"Ah, nothing much..." Konata tapped a finger to her chin. "Just a small bit of company on a little excursion that would otherwise be painfully lonely..." She pouted, keeping her finger just under her lower lip. Kagami felt a small rush of excitement that came with the notion of opportunity. Konata was asking her to go somewhere alone with her. Does she want to talk? What else could it be? Why else would she ask only her? This was what she was waiting for.

"Okay, fine. It'd just better not take too long this time." Kagami was easily suckered.

"Great!" Konata flashed a thumbs up. "Then, that makes all three of you." She turned and waved the same thumbs up to Tsukasa and Miyuki, who had been trailing behind. They nodded, having agreed to accompany Konata when she asked them earlier during class.

Kagami felt her lower eyelid twitch.

* * *

There was little surprise to the fact that Konata had wanted to take her friends shopping in the Akihabara district, but for some unnamed reason Kagami seemed to find it as irritating as a cactus up her skirt.

"It's perfect," the otaku bragged to herself. "They're having a three for one deal today only, on a set that has four different parts! And I, with my faithful comrades gathered--"

"Cut the drama, already. A thanks would be nice every now and then, you know," Kagami interrupted irritably.

"That's no way to boost morale, Kagami," Konata scolded. "This is a mission of love! You've gotta show your love!"

"Love, huh?" Both bitter and wistful tones still clung to Kagami's words. Konata didn't seem to notice.

"That's right. I know it's a foreign concept, but just put yourself in the same mind frame you do when you go to the bookstore, or right before you're gonna eat 10 kilos of cake."

Kagami was about to retort when Konata yanked her by her sleeve into the overcrowded store of choice.

There was hardly a moment to stop and think. Once the quartet entered, Konata barked her orders at them and they split four separate ways. Climbing and cramming between Konata's unsanitary kinsmen was no circumstance for planning a confrontation. All Kagami could do while retrieving her friend's desired item was grow more and more frustrated.

_She tricked me into this! She must have known that I'd say yes!_ she thought, deftly dodging an elbow. _Why... _She ducked under a swinging shopping bag. _...is it all up to me? She's the one who kissed me! She's the one who should be explaining things! Not sitting around and waiting for me to go crazy!_ In the final stretch, Kagami shoved her way between two t-shirt-clad backs that were a little more sweaty than anything she'd have cared to touch. _It shouldn't be up to me! She should come out and tell me why she did it! Unless..._ Finally freed of the crowd, Kagami caught sight of Konata, who had already met up with Tsukasa and Miyuki. She was laughing with them, nudging Tsukasa's side with her elbow. She didn't even notice Kagami's approach. _Unless she wasn't even serious..._

* * *

"Why are we going in here again? I thought you'd already gotten what you wanted." Kagami asked as the group of friends entered a far less populated store.

"I don't like to leave any routes unexplored, Kagami." Konata answered, letting the door shut behind her. "No mission here, you're all free to shop as you please." The little geek instructed as she made her way down one of the aisles.

Tsukasa took an uneasy look around. "That last store was so crazy." She shuddered and turned to where Kagami had been standing beside her. "Ne, we don't have to split up this time, do we Oneech--" Though her sister had been at her right side a moment earlier, it seemed as if she had skillfully disappeared. Miyuki turned her head from side to side. Tsukasa blinked. "Oneechan?"

Peering down the DVD aisle, Konata's lone figure shone like a beacon to Kagami. Making sure that her friend didn't notice, the tsundere hid herself from view at the end of the aisle. She took a deep breath.

_Okay, here's my chance. Just walk over to her casually, tap her shoulder, and say... say... oh hell, what do I say?_ Kagami's fingers did some fast-paced fidgeting while she turned ideas over and over in her mind. _I don't have time to deliberate! Just do it! Okay...!_

Thrusting herself out of hiding, Kagami moved down the DVD aisle... only to realize that Konata had moved on while she was hiding. Not yet to be thwarted, the girl began searching the rest of the aisles for the elusive midget.

_Not here, not this one, or this one... damnit Konata, where are you?_

Kagami was fast approaching the last couple of aisles, the only places left where Konata could be. She was just about to hasten her pace to a trot when a large and startling figure moving at twice her speed collided with Kagami, knocking her to her rear. She winced and glanced up indignantly. The figure who had crashed into her was a strikingly tall man in a bright green overcoat. He wore an even brighter red visor, and his hair stretched out to an exaggerated length over his forehead. Everything about him somehow seemed exaggerated.

"Watch it!" Kagami scolded irritably, pushing to her feet. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I..." The man looked past Kagami, seeming to be in thought so deep his veins might have begun popping out. He refocused, eyes burning with visible fire. "I am charging toward my goal with everything I have!! No holds barred!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, clenching his hands into fists. "Only through this passion and determination of mine will I ever reach any goal!! Full speed ahead, Legendary Girl A!! HENSHIN A GO-GO!!" The man tore off down the nearest aisle, leaving a smoking trail of smoldering ashes behind him. Kagami stared after him, visibly disturbed.

"Passion and determination, huh...?"

* * *

After recomposing herself, Kagami managed to find Konata browsing character CDs. Steeling her determination, she moved in.

"Heya, Konata. What're you looking at?" She mustered nonchalance.

"Hey, Kagami." Konata flipped the CD case she was looking at to show the taller girl. "Nij0u-Me00ou no Mu00me. That Ch-ko's got an awesome singing voice." She grinned, then tilted her head. "I didn't know that you liked character singles, Kagami."

"W-well, I don't per say... I was just looking for--"

"I could make some great recommendations! Here." She handed Kagami a few cases.

"Eyesh--ld 21, Te-0pathy s0oujo R-n, Suzumiya Haruhi no-- ...look Konata, that's not what I'm looking for."

"Then why'd you come down here?"

"I came down here because I...I..."

"Yeah?"

"I... I w--"

Kagami was very abruptly interrupted by an enormous green frog. A tall Keroro mascot costume had shoved itself between the two girls and was now very intentionally shuffling her off to the side.

"Hey, what the-" As Kagami protested, the mascot spun around to face Konata. It spread its arms upward, and dozens of flyers containing multiple advertisements rained down upon the small girl. While Konata blinked indifferently though half-lidded eyes, the mascot struck a victory pose and made a dramatic leap away from the scene. Konata looked at one of the flyers.

"Pretty cute." She said, then dropped it. "Let's go, I'm done here."

Feeling more than a little defeated, Kagami followed. No one seemed to notice the sobbing red-visored man's head pop out of the Keroro costume to press itself against the glass of the door after they'd left.

* * *

While Konata traveled with arms weighed down by shopping bags and head held high, Kagami kept her head hung low. Traveling home, Tsukasa asked if they could stop for some food.

"Sure. I know a great cafe where you can get drinks in glasses shaped like G--"

"We are NOT going to a cafe _here_." Kagami cut Konata off before she could suggest any of Akihabara's 'unique' dining experiences. She insisted that they go closer to home.

Eventually the group settled on one of their more familiar restaurants closer to the school.

Exhausted, each of the girls was pleased to order a hot drink after being seated.

"It's so cold outside!" Tsukasa shivered. "Wouldn't it be nice if every table here was more like a kotatsu?"

"That does sound like an interesting idea," Miyuki nodded, "It could have good potential for business."

"Yeah," Konata chimed, "but if they did that, then no one would ever wanna leave during the Winter season."

"That's also true," Tsukasa said with a giggle. "Ooh, look! A dessert tray!" The short haired girl pointed toward a counter on the other side of the restaurant. "I'm gonna go look at it. Wanna come, Yuki-chan?"

"Sure." Miyuki smiled.

"Oneechan?"

"No thanks, I'd rather sit down for now," Kagami stole a glance at Konata.

"Yeah, I'm good too," Konata said with a lazy sigh.

"We'll be right back then!"

Just like that, they were alone again. Silence ensued. Konata took a sip of coffee. Kagami pretended to read the menu. _I should say something now,_ she thought. The thought passed through the twin-tailed girl's head multiple times before she began to peer over the edge of her menu.

"Hey, Kagami."

Although Kagami's heart caught in her throat at the sound of Konata's voice beating her to the punch, she still managed to respond.

"Yeah...?" Kagami observed her smaller friend's face. She wasn't grinning or smirking, so there was a chance that she wasn't going to mention geekery or teasing. Her mouth was an ambiguous downturned "V". It wasn't exactly a serious look, but... _Is she actually going to say something now?_

"Did you know that coffee can have a lot more calories in it than you think?" Konata held up a finger.

Kagami had a small urge to slam her face onto the table. "Huh?"

"Especially if you add lots of sugar or other extra stuff to it. I heard that it's a big way for students to become overweight." A casual smile was back on Konata's face. Looking at it, Kagami could easily recall the way her face had looked as she mouthed those muted words past the train windows. If only she had heard what she said.

"I don't usually worry about that... I like my coffee black just fine."

"Hn..." Konata appeared to be thinking for a moment. She glanced back down at a menu. "Guess I should've expected that."

"What did you say?" Kagami growled.

Konata made her snickering obvious, "How fitting for you, Kagami."

Kagami nearly seethed. She leaned forward a little, giving Konata a look that was unpleased on multiple levels. "Now look here! What's going on?"

Konata blinked cluelessly. "Hm?"

"Don't play stupid!" Kagami continued. "How can you act like this when--"

"Excuse me! Are you girls ready to order?" The waiter cheerily interrupted.

Kagami slammed her hand down on the table, and shot a death glare to the squinty-eyed waiter that would singe the eyebrows off of his face. "NO." Her answer was so full of malice that one could easily imagine the black ooze dripping from the word. Konata jumped slightly. The waiter all but wet himself.

"Wa wa wa wa whatever you say ma'am!" He scooted off.

"B-black..." Konata remarked in english with an exaggerated stutter. However, when she noticed those sharp indigo eyes had fixed on her, the stammer became a little more genuine. "K-Kagami-sama?" There was a slight blue gradient over her eyes.

"Konata."

Konata sat up as straight as she could. "Mm!"

Kagami's features remained fixed and determined. "I..." No words followed the first one. The tsundere could feel her expression beginning to falter. "I..." Still weaker grew the look on Kagami's face until it held almost none of the strength it had a moment ago. "I-I..."

"Yeah...?" Konata peeped out.

As if Konata's answer had given her one final burst of determination, Kagami re-fixed her gaze. "I--"

"We're back!" Tsukasa announced, nearly sending her sister to the ceiling with surprise.

"Ah, welcome back!" Konata immediately turned her attention away from Kagami. "How'd it look?"

"Everything looked very delicious. As I thought, croquette bread is the most popular at this shop,"Miyuki said enthusiastically.

A yellow shape ding-dinged next to Konata's surprised face, "You watch that show? Wow, I didn't expect you to like that kinda thing." She put her hand to her chin and winked, "But I guess, 'A cute face is definitely hiding something,' huh, Miyuki-san?"

"Huh?" Miyuki said in bewilderment.

As discussion continued, Kagami spent the rest of the meal with her head buried into her folded arms. Because of a 'headache', of course.

**Footnotes: **Thanks for sticking with us! It'll be over soon, I promise. Haha, you don't want it to be over do you? Well I at least promise that the next chapter will be much less tense and much more gratifying, at least in one way or another... I hope you at least found this one funny. We really like reviews, so if you liked it (or didn't) and wanna let us know, don't hesitate!

Next Time: Hey, it's Kagami. Don't you hate how certain fanfictions seem to get a kick out of torturing a particular character? Especially if it's one of your favorites, the whole time you're thinking 'hey they totally don't deserve that! This character has such a hard time already, why would you be so hard on them? Cut 'em a break already!', but you keep reading because you really wanna see things work out! You've just gotta hope that the author will make the right choice already!

Next chapter: High Score. O-tanoshimi ni!


	7. High Score

**Disclaimer: **Lucky Star and its characters are not my legal property. In return for saying so, I'd like more Megami scans suggesting that Konata and Kagami are secret lovers. Thanks.

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone who read this far. This is the final chapter, but it's a very long one so you should all be happy. HEY. I see some of you hitting the back button there, reading is good for you so don't run away just because it's a few extra pages. For this one, we would REALLY like to hear what you guys think. Some parts of this were very difficult to write. Let us know please? Also, for this chapter take note that Christmas in Japan is not the same as it is in America. To them, it's a little bit more like Valentine's Day. So let's quit screwin' around and start!

Chapter 7: High Score

Her lips had been soft... softer than she'd have imagined. Their warmth was significant against the Winter chill, and her kiss had filled Kagami's senses with the same feeling that a warm cup of tea would have. Her face had been sincere, sweet; almost beautiful as the doors closed in front of it. There was something genuine there, in her smile and in whatever words she was mouthing... but she couldn't hear her! The train carried her away! Konata had set everything up so that there would be no immediate repercussions. She had run away. Kagami pounded on the train windows.

"Konata! Get back here! Get back here and tell me what you said!"

THUD. Kagami woke as her chin made painful contact with her desk. A pencil fell from her hand. As her eyes refocused and her schoolwork came into view, the pigtailed girl swiftly recalled that she was supposed to be studying for her final. She had drifted off yet again. She took a glance at the clock, and saw that it was already past 9:00 PM. She had hardly advanced at all.

"Nn...this is all her fault. I can't stop thinking about her... I'm screwed if this keeps up." She brushed some hair from her eyes. "No, I can't give up... gotta stay awake tonight."

The week had not gone smoothly. Kagami had been staying awake later than usual to study, which had become increasingly difficult due to her stress with Konata. Unaccustomed to sleep deprivation, many aspects of her school life suffered. She had caught a scolding from her teacher for spacing out. She nearly dozed off multiple times. To top things off, Konata had continued to act completely neutral to the events of the previous week and Kagami had continued to be too frightened to confront her.

That evening, Kagami found herself feeling far more unprepared for tomorrow's final than she had ever wanted to. _No choice,_ she had thought, _I've gotta pull an all nighter._ Even in the early hours of her all-night stretch, Kagami had been slipping in and out of consciousness. She felt her temper slipping as well.

_"I love you..."_

Konata's playful exclamation from the previous month echoed randomly in her head. Had that perhaps been what she had said as the doors closed? No, how cliché. Konata would have said something much more idiotic if she were confessing love. What had she said? Why did she kiss her? Why was she acting as if it had never happened? Kagami's fists clenched.

_This is all some kind of joke, isn't it? The greatest one she's ever played on me! It was just to get some kind of reaction, just like everything she does! She wasn't serious at all!_

She pounded her fists onto her desk, staring angrily down at the notes which seemed to be doing nothing more than mocking her. A few seconds and a few thoughts passed, and with them came a gradual softening of the girl's fury.

_It's my own fault... for being so immature._ Her head hung remorsefully. _But I can't help it. I tried, I really did. Damnit, Konata. I do love you... even though I sorta want to kill you right now._

As if allowing herself to admit it had eased a part of her mind, Kagami stretched her arms and got back to her notes. _But I can do that -after- the test._

Finals came and went. Kagami's persistence had paid off with a decent grade, though not as high as she had hoped. Her friends had also passed. Konata congratulated her for giving the all-night cram a valiant try, much to Kagami's chagrin.

Vacation started. Days grew colder and Kagami had grown the same way in regard to the phone call from Konata that would not come. It was better if she distanced herself a little and got some relaxation before exposing herself to Konata again. With the way she was feeling over the test, who knew what she might say to her. Keeping alone to her books for a while was a better choice.

"Kagami?" Inori's voice came from the other side of Kagami's door, along with a soft knock. "The phone is for you. It's Konata-ch--"

The door was open and the phone was whisked away in under a second. The door shut again in the baffled Inori's face.

"Hello?" Kagami pressed the phone to her ear.

"Ah, Kagami!" Konata's voice sounded on the other end. "You know Miyuki-san's leaving on a trip really soon, right?"

Kagami nodded, despite being on the phone. "Yeah."

"We should all get together to hang out once more before she leaves. It's our last Winter break together, after all." Konata didn't give Kagami much room to speak, much less protest seeing her again. "Hnn... I've got some pretty good plans already..." the otaku continued, and Kagami could easily imagine her mischievous smile. "Are you and Tsukasa in?"

"I..." _Say no, say no! I... I can't say no!_ "Yeah, sure. We'll come. Tomorrow's weather will be okay, is that when you were thinking?"

"Sure was! It might snow a little, but nothing big. I'll text you a meeting place or something."

"Okay. Hey Konata, I--"

"See you then!" Click.

Kagami sighed. _Okay, Konata. This'll be your last chance._

* * *

The day of the outing was a very typical Winter's day. The air was still and chilly, with many a pale grey cloud hanging over the sky. Through the chill, the Hiiragi twins made their way to the bus stop designated by Konata. Fortunately, they saw that Miyuki and Konata were already there waiting for them.

"Yo." Kagami greeted, a wisp of vapor breezing from her mouth. Tsukasa stepped from behind her sister and waved. Kagami glanced up at the bus stop sign. Silently, she wondered what immediate activity Konata had planned for them. "We didn't keep you waiting, did we?"

Konata said yes at the same time that Miyuki said no.

"Oh, Miyuki-san," Konata crooned, "You're just so nice. You make me feel bad. Here, I'll fix it!" The midget cleared her throat, "It's no problem, and we didn't have to wait long." She spoke in a sugared tone.

"I'm sorry, Izumi-san. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." Miyuki bowed her head politely. "I was actually almost late myself, because I had written down the bus stop numbers in reverse, and I had been waiting at the wrong stop for a while. I do apologize."

The backdrop grew dark, save a pink light surrounding Miyuki. Konata stood in the darkness with an amazed little triangle mouth, _Khhhaaaaaaaaaa! She's just too pure!_

Tsukasa likewise marveled at Miyuki's aura. "Pink..."

Kagami placed an impatient hand on her hip, "Okay, that's all fine, but are you going to tell us what's on our schedule today?"

"Why would we want a schedule on a day meant for fun?" Konata chided with a shrug and a shaking head. She sighed and then put her hands on Kagami's shoulders. Her head rose to allow her large green eyes to stare into Kagami's. "Let's be free, Kagamin. Can't we be free?!" Her voice was full of mock emotion.

"This from someone who'd been bragging about her 'plans' for today..." She trailed off. Kagami, having locked eyes with Konata in jest or not, was immobilized by them. An awkward silence ensued.

"Pardon me, but I believe the bus is approaching." Miyuki gently broke said silence, gesturing with a mitten-clad hand.

"Y-you are going to have to tell us where we're getting off you know, -if- you have anything planned like you mentioned yesterday." Kagami insisted, freed from the moment.

"Oh my, such a troubled girl you are." Konata mocked the frowning tsundere as they boarded the bus.

* * *

The bus ride wasn't a very long one. Tsukasa snuggled against her sister for some additional warmth during the ride. Kagami couldn't help but glance over to the next seat to see if Konata was doing the same with Miyuki. Out of simple curiosity, of course. Konata was merely playing her DS.

They arrived at their destination, instructed to exit the bus by Konata. Stepping off, the girls' eyes widened slightly at the sight of their goal.

"A skating rink?" Kagami stated the obvious.

"Doesn't it fit the season?" Konata gushed.

"Well sure, it's just..." Kagami glanced around. "...some of us may not have the same skill that you do at this sort of thing, you know, and..."

"All the more moe-points. Skating is great because it's fun, it's a great way to trigger flags, and you either look cool or moe doing it!" Konata eyed her friend. "But you...you might be an exception," she said with concern.

"Don't start with me!" Kagami huffed. "I was only worried for Tsukasa's sake!"

"Don't worry about me, Oneechan," Tsukasa interjected nervously. "Besides, I heard that Yuki-chan is a good skater and I've always wanted to see her in action."

"Oh my." Miyuki blushed some. "I'm certainly not on a professional level..."

Konata's eyes sparkled, "But I heard you could do a double-axel!"

"Really, Yuki-chan?"

"Oh, it's really not so impressive..." Miyuki's modesty did not falter.

"Well, we're never going to find out if we stand out here and stare at the place any longer." Kagami interrupted her friends, having given up protesting and resigned to wait until it was over with. "Are we going in or not?"

Konata nodded and shuffled the group inside.

Kagami leaned on the side rail of the rink, watching the other skaters. Like much of the city, the rink was decorated with multiple flickering seasonal lights and other decorations. There were several posters on the walls advertising romantic hotel or restaurant specials for couples. Normally, these were things that Kagami would scoff at and shrug off as typical commercialism. This year, however, they left the girl with a pang of heartache. _It's almost Christmas... this is really fitting for the season,_ she thought idly. A young man and woman skated past her, holding hands. Kagami lowered her eyes. _Yeah, really fitting..._

"Hey!" Konata returned, carrying four pairs of rental skates with her. Kagami counted the pairs and gulped.

"H-hey now, I thought I told you that I was just going to watch this time," she protested.

"Don't you remember our freedom talk, Kagami?" Konata asked, holding up a small fist. "Or are you afraid that you'll break the ice? I know you've been snacking a lot, but I don't think you're that heavy yet..." She did nothing to hide a lewd smirk.

"Shut up! This just isn't my thing!"

"Oneechan, you could skate with me." Tsukasa spoke up. "I-I was actually a little afraid of falling down, and I was hoping you might be there to catch me or something..."

Kagami faltered. It was easy to argue with Konata, but turning down the pleas of her clumsy sister was often another story. "I guess you would sorta be a mess out there," she commented while Tsukasa giggled some. "Alright, just give me a moment to get the skates on."

Konata turned to Miyuki, a devilish grin spread over her catlike mouth. "I have a gift for you, Miyuki-san."

Miyuki blinked innocently. "Oh? For me?"

"Yeah. It's that big box you helped me carry here. It was for you all along, but I wanted you to open it here," Konata said with her most charming smile.

"Oh my, Izumi-san, how kind of you. My birthday has already passed, so you didn't need to go to any trouble."

"It was no trouble at all. I only have one thing to ask-- please do wear it now," Konata chided sweetly. As the suspiciously generous otaku finished her sentence, Miyuki finished unwrapping the present... revealing a fluffy white ballerina dress and shoulder cuffs, a feathery white hairpiece, small metal crown and a peculiar winged pendant. Miyuki pinkened at the sight of it.

"O-oh... you want me to wear this now, Izumi-san?"

Konata gave a firm nod. "Just be sure you don't say, 'Quack,' okay?"

"Oh? Is it bad luck?" The pink haired girl asked, her naivety shining brilliantly.

Kagami was frowning from where she and Tsukasa stood wobbling on their skates. "For someone who doesn't like to cosplay casually, you sure are pushy with your friends!"

* * *

"Tsukasa, are you ready to let go of the rail yet?" Kagami asked her sister, whom she had been following very slowly around the borders of the skating rink.

"N-not yet... I still don't know if I have the hang of these things ye-ET!" The short haired girl slipped for the thirty-sixth time, spilling backwards onto her rear. "Ooow! It's so c-cold!"

"Honestly," the older twin chided as she reached her gloved hand down to help the younger up. "You're still so childish sometimes. You'll never learn how to keep your balance if you just stay glued to the walls the whole time." While speaking, Kagami kept her own right hand firmly on the rail, trying her hardest to keep her feet from wobbling on the ice.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa smiled embarrassedly, "I'm just a slow learner, I guess."

"Well, come on." Kagami asserted when she was sure her sister was back on her feet. "We're here, so we might as well keep attempting to enjoy ourselves." She glanced off to the center of the rink where Konata and Miyuki were skating. "Like those two."

Although the costume was a bit extravagant, it actually looked rather nice when Miyuki was figure skating. Her skill came together with the costume to give off a picturesque feeling, rather than an awkward loser-cosplayer vibe. When Miyuki twirled, onlookers would clap. Before long, there was a crowd just watching.

Konata was skating easily around the edges of the rink with a cup that had the word, "TIPS" scrawled out on it. It was filling up fast.

"Is that even legal?" Kagami wondered with flattened brows. Though she told herself it was only to make sure that things didn't get carried away, Kagami locked her eyes onto Konata. She was extremely graceful, completely effortless. Kagami was sure that the blue haired midget thought very little of her talent, but she was nice to watch none the less.

"Oneechaaaan! I'm speeding uuuuuup!" Tsukasa called out. Whipping her gaze back to her sister, Kagami saw that she had gotten a burst of confidence and released the guide rail. Naturally, she had immediately lost control.

"Tsu-Tsukasa!" Kagami also let go of the rail, instinctively pushing herself forward and revealing her own ice-bound clumsiness in order to help her floundering sibling. Completely out of her element, Kagami's body did not do as it was told. Although she had projected herself forward, her feet were too fast for the rest of her and the twin-tailed girl made a sudden backwards lurch. "Ah!" She gave a sharp cry as she spilled toward the ice.

As if right out of the pages of a Shoujo-B00t title, a blue blur whisked in and caught Kagami right before her head met the ice. A tiny belt of warmth held her waist tight and guided her back to the rail. It was very warm. Her rescuer was very warm. Kagami's heart did not slow, even as she was delivered from her collision. It didn't take her long to figure out who had caught her. Though her eyes were shut, there was no mistaking Konata's distinctive scent. The lilac haired girl kept her eyes shut intentionally, very likely to spare herself the embarrassment of having to look at Konata after such a scene... or perhaps enjoying the moment. Slowly, she allowed one eye to open... only to see a haughty, mocking grin plastered across her hero's face. It looked like those kitty-lips were barely holding back a comment.

Still slightly dumbfounded, Kagami stammered. "Th-thank you..." she then frowned at the smug face above hers, "...b-but I never said you could grab me like that!"

Konata looked down at Kagami, a novelty perspective she seemed to enjoy. "Would you rather hit the ice? There's no other way to catch you. It wasn't exactly easy, you know. A clumsy, flailing, heavy tsundere is hard to save."

Kagami flustered intensely. "What did you--Ah! Tsukasa! Where is she? Why the hell didn't you help her first, Konata?" Konata jerked her head back and to the side in response. Her other arm lead down to a hand that grasped the back of Tsukasa's collar. Tsukasa had been rescued from a hard impact to be gently lowered to the ground as Konata had raced towards Kagami, saving both twins at once. The timid girl was still recovering, oblivious to the cold ice under her butt.

Kagami let out a relieved sigh upon seeing her sister safe. Her attention then returned to her complexion, which was more than just rosy with the cold. "You... you can let go of me now." She said to Konata, her voice lowered slightly.

"Are you sure you'll be able to stand without my help?" Konata patronized.

"Yes, now let me go!" The tsundere insisted.

"Are you sure you want me to?" Konata's eyes were casting an unwavering gaze on Kagami.

Kagami burned as if to melt the ice. "Wh... Of course I want you to! Don't say such weird thi-INGS!" Konata released Kagami as per her request, and she stumbled backward onto her bottom. "Ow..." the pigtailed girl muttered, casting an indignant look up to the smirking girl above her.

* * *

"Shouldn't the movie that we see be up to Miyuki, since you said you were doing this for her?" Kagami spoke with crossed arms, glancing dubiously at the title Konata had chosen for them at the theater.

"It's a fun family experience. Who could argue?" Konata replied calmly.

"This isn't a family movie, and you're being really rude to Miyuki, not to mention the rest of--"

"Oh, I really don't mind." Miyuki smiled sweetly. "I'm willing to do whatever will keep everyone happy."

"That's the spirit, Miyuki-san!" Konata said, securing a childish snow cap on her head in order to help procure a child's price ticket.

"Miyuki, people like Konata are going to walk all over you if you don't stand up for yourself now and then..." Kagami remarked, exasperated.

"I'm not particularly opposed to these kinds of films," the bespectacled girl still reassured.

Kagami merely sighed. "I didn't even see the first K-men Ri0er..."

"You should come over sometime and watch it," Konata chirped.

"M-maybe I will..." Kagami's heart skipped a beat at the offer. The simple little sentence was better than anything Konata had offered her since the train. _Maybe... maybe I judged her a little too quickly. Maybe it wasn't a joke? Huh, I'd better not get my hopes up.  
_  
In the theater, Kagami was seated between Tsukasa and Konata. Tsukasa wanted to be near her sister for the frightening and violent scenes, and Konata had merely sat next to her by chance. Or had she? Kagami found herself missing a good deal of the film due to her constant glances in Konata's direction. _She's been acting a little warmer with me... just barely. I'm pretty sure she just invited me to her house sometime. Oh, but what if I'm reading too much into this? She hasn't looked my way once so far._ Kagami's fingers began to fidget on the armrest. Unexpectedly, they brushed Konata's.

"Ah... sorry." She said, moving her hand. Konata merely nodded.

_This is so cliché. It's almost sad. I wish I had a clue about what she's thinking during times like these._ Kagami watched Konata's face from the corners of her eyes. The smaller girl's attention was consistently fixed on the screen. _Whatever media is flashing itself in her face is probably the only thing that's ever on her mind..._ As if triggered, Konata turned to Kagami, breaking her concentration.

"You shouldn't miss this part, Kagami. It's really cool, so pay attention, kay?" She smiled a sweet little kitten-smile at Kagami, her deep green eyes sparkling with the moving reflections of the picture on the screen. For an instant, Kagami could see the same face that had kissed her and spoken the mysterious goodbye that night. The tsundere smiled back at her.

"Kay." She answered with her own hint of sweetness, giving her attention back to the movie.

* * *

Stepping out of the theater a couple of hours later, the group was bombarded with a surprise. The 'little bit' of snow had turned out to be a heavy but brief storm. Though it was all but over by the time the girls had finished the movie, it had left a significant blanket over the streets and sidewalks.

"Ah, wow!" Tsukasa looked thrilled.

"Aw jeez, now we're going to have to trudge through this before anyone can shovel it!" Kagami groaned and put a hand over her eyes in frustration. "That weather report can be so unreliable!"

When she lowered her hand, it gave way to the sight of Konata running towards her with shining eyes and sparkling, flowing hair. She could have sworn her surroundings were pastel clouds and bubbles.

"Ka-ga-miiin!" Konata called in a childish voice.

Kagami let her mouth hang open a bit. One of her brows quivered as Konata prepared to bombard her with doubtless weirdness. "...what's wrong with you?" She stared.

"I want taiyaki!" she squeaked as she grabbed onto Kagami's shirt a little.

"What?" Kagami leaned back a little, secretly admiring Konata's eyes at the same time. "How old are you, huh?"

Konata almost seemed to have sprouted some chubby wings while she struck a cute pose, "Uguuu!" she protested in a sickeningly adorable manner.

"N-..." Kagami blushed behind a cloud of vapor. "Knock it off, already." She swiftly turned her head off to the side. "What else did you have planned, anyway?"

Konata's sugary facade crumbled instantly and returned to her usual glazed stare, "Well, I thought we could go eat somewhere."

"I would enjoy that." Miyuki smiled. "I am a bit hungry after the movie. And you, Tsukasa-san?"

Tsukasa looked up suddenly from the tiny snowman she had been constructing in the middle of the sidewalk. "Eh? Oh, yeah! A place with hot chocolate would be great!"

"Oh, that's a good idea Tsukasa-san," Miyuki praised enthusiastically.

Konata nodded with her eyes closed and arms folded, as if it had been purely her own idea. "I know of a good place nearby."

"Well let's get going," Kagami replied impatiently. "It's freezing out here."

"Kagamin just wants to stuff herself," Konata quipped. This earned her a glare from her friend, upon which she took off down the sidewalk, kicking up snow as she went.

"Get back here, you little runt!" Kagami gave chase, a small smile forming at the edges of her mouth.

* * *

Oddly, Konata had not selected any sort of unconventional establishment for eating. Rather, she had chosen a nice eat-in bakery. The girls had settled comfortably into a table for four, and conversation bloomed easily. Kagami seemed to be in a better mood, though her eyes' constant darting towards Konata would not go unnoticed by a careful watcher.

"It was covered in this weird stuff, and it really smelled bad!" Konata finished a story to a chorus of giggles from her friends.

"Here are your drinks, ladies." The waiter announced, setting down a tray of four mugs.

"Hey," Konata spoke after a second. "I wanted a hot chocolate, not a tea." She pointed to her mug.

"Ah! T-terribly sorry ma'am, I'll bring you a replacement right away!" The waiter bowed and scampered toward the kitchen. Before he made it to the door, a flying clipboard struck him on the head. An angry pink-haired hostess had chucked it at him.

"Quit pissing off the customers!" She growled. Hers and the waiter's continued exchange faded into the background as Kagami took a sip from her own hot chocolate.

"Hey, you were right. This is really good." She commented, and looked up from her steaming cup to the blue-haired girl sitting across from her. It didn't take a very observant eye to notice that Konata was staring rather longingly at Kagami's drink. The pigtailed girl was put on the spot. She hesitated only a moment before giving in to Konata's blatant begging. "...you wanna try?"

"Really?" Konata's face lit up. She didn't hesitate to leap from her seat and scoot in close to Kagami, much less politely argue. Personal space didn't seem to be a concern for her either, because her thigh and shoulder were brushing against Kagami as she stole a sip from the cup that her friend was still holding. Kagami's face immediately began competing with her hot chocolate for high temperatures. The feeling of Konata invading her space caused her legs to fidget.

"H-hey, be a little more polite!" She scolded, watching Konata drink.

_Her mouth's on my cup. Is this... and indirect kiss?_ Kagami winced at her own thoughts. _Oh come on, how pathetic am I, thinking like that? Sharing a drink is completely normal... yes. Completely._

Konata downed half the cup while Kagami contemplated. Finally, she took her seat again and sighed contentedly, "So tasty...thanks Kagamin. Y'know, I'm surprised you let me have some."

Konata lowered her voice so that Miyuki and Tsukasa would not hear, "It's kinda like an indirect kiss."

Kagami's heart leaped to her throat and inhibited her speech. Steam rose from more than just the cups on the table. "Wh-wh-what did you say??" She stammered out.

Konata took a deep breath and began talking very loudly, "I said, It's li--"

The tsundere swiftly plastered her hand over her friend's tiny cat smile. "Shut up!" She hissed.

Miyuki and Tsukasa, distracted from their own banter, looked over.

"Oneechan?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Of... of course." Kagami removed her hand from Konata's smug face and leaned back into her seat, glaring at her.

Konata just smiled back at her friend. For a moment. Suddenly smile began to fade into an intense, pensive stare. "Kagami..."

Kagami blinked in rapid succession as the shorter girl addressed her in an unexpected manner. The stare and mention of her name did nothing to kill the tsundere's blush. She did her best to appear casual, lifting her much lighter cup to her mouth.

"Yeah?"

The waiter returned sporting a few bruises on his head. He slid a mug in front of Konata. "My apologies, ma'am." Konata didn't seem to notice that she had received her own cup of the drink she had craved moments ago. Her eyes just rested on Kagami.

Her mouth opened hesitantly, "I...I need to tell you something. In private."

Kagami, who had been burning up through most of the conversation, now felt everything inside her freeze up. _Tellmesomethinginprivatewhat??_ She intently glanced over Konata's features to ascertain that there were no traces of jest to be found. From what she could see, there were none.

"I-in private?" She parroted, then cleared her throat and attempted at keeping her cool. "What... what exactly do you have to say that you can't say out here?"

"I can't say it out here," Konata reiterated simply, and began to scoot out of the booth they were sitting in. "We'll be right back," she said to her friends as she pulled Kagami along by the sleeve.

The frazzled girl had no chance to explain herself to her sister and friend as the little geek dragged her off. Kagami felt her heart accelerate uncontrollably.

_Sh-she's taking me off alone...! Right after talking about a kiss... she must be--! OhmygodOhcrapWhatdoIdo? S-stay calm... this is what I've been waiting for. She's finally going so say something. But... I can't believe she's done all of this to me! She's driving me crazy! What's she going to do now?_

Konata weaved through the restaurant with an almost urgent sense of purpose about her. They closed in on the lady's room, and Konata pulled the door open. It was one of those cheerful single-toilet bathrooms with a stock painting and a button lock on the door. Konata ushered her friend in, closed the door, and pushed that button. Ka-click.

Kagami couldn't count the beats of her heart if she tried. Her mind had raced off track on the way to the rest room. She felt like a trapped rabbit, teased into a corner by a crafty little fox. The particular look on Konata's face was quite serious rather than devious, however, which only worked to unnerve the poor tsundere even more. At the same time, a boiling excitement bubbled furiously inside of her. Her days of pining and confusion were finally going to get a conclusion. It took all that Kagami had to muster an uneasy sentence.

"S-so what is it you wanted to tell me...?"

"Kagami..," Konata began, looking into the other girl's nervous eyes. "I couldn't tell you out there...but..."

"B-but... y-yeah?"

"...Your bra is showing."

Konata pointed. The taller girl's 80's reminiscent off-the-shoulder top was going a bit too far off the shoulder. Kagami's large, shining, hopeful irises immediately shrank to pencil-point dots.

"...what?"

"Right there." Konata moved her hand back and forth for emphasis. "See? Your hair was kinda covering it up, so I don't think many people saw. But I thought I'd let you know before your hair moved around too much." Konata seemed to think she was a _very_ good friend.

Kagami's lip twitched. Something snapped. "AAGH!" She yelled. " DAMNIT!" Kagami immediately seethed toward Konata, a fiery aura erupting behind her. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Konata?? Huh?? HUH?! What are you trying to do to me?!" Konata jerked back against the bathroom sink in surprise, and perhaps a few spoonfuls of intimidation. Kagami did not relent. "Is this all some kind of gag to you? Is that the only reason you've been doing all of this? Is that all I that I am to you? A giant _joke_?? I'm not laughing! Why, Konata? Why would you kiss me and then ignore me for a week? Why did you kiss me and run? Why did you do it at all?" Despite her barrage of questions, Kagami's charging fury left no room for Konata to answer. Konata had tried to open her mouth once or twice, but before long, she resigned herself to the onslaught. Yeah...maybe she deserved it. "Do you have any idea what I've been through? Of course not, you insensitive twerp! You have no idea how I feel at all! I was waiting for you! I was going nuts! I could've failed my EXAMS because of you!!" Konata's eyes darted from Kagami to the floor as she felt that strange emotion seeping through her again. That weird one. It didn't happen often, but she was pretty sure it was guilt. Her fingers gripped the sink behind her a little. Kagami continued at full force. "And the sad part is that I'd probably do it again instead of pounding your face flat like I should! Why?! Why you? You're a careless, tactless weirdo who goes against everything I stand for, you spend half the time we're together making fun of me and I still love being with you! What's wrong with me?! I look forward to seeing you every day! I think about you more than any rational person ever should! I do all kinds of stupid things for you, just to see you satisfied!" Outside, those at the tables seated close to the bathroom door were curiously turning their heads toward the muffled outburst they heard from within. The noise only rambled onward. "I want to make you happy, even though you'd never even give me so much as a thank you! What the HELL have you done to deserve that?! Nothing! You stole my first kiss just so you could get a laugh! So go on and tell me what drove you to do all this!!" She sent a bit of spit in Konata's direction at the end of certain words, "Tell me what's going on in that twisted little mind of yours, you sadistic fun-sized freak! After all this crap, I deserve an answer! Go on!" The raging tsundere heaved herself in the smaller girl's face, eyes burning.

By the time the ramble was climaxing to a frantic finish, Konata was wincing and squinting her eyes shut to Kagami's punctuated words. When Kagami finished, she was subjected to a few more seconds of angry bewilderment as Konata sighed and opened her eyes.

They stared straight into Kagami's. Suddenly Kagami could see something in that valley of green that was so beautiful, it was hard to put words on. Something that she'd caught glimpses of before, but second-guessed. Something that had never been so clear and crisp before.

"Kagami..." Konata began as she pushed herself off of the sink. "You talk too much."

And their lips met.

This reaction being one of the last she expected, Kagami was promptly immobilized. _Wh-what??_ Her eyes fought to stay open as Konata's mouth remained on hers, and they eventually batted themselves shut. Three more seconds passed, and the pigtailed girl forced herself away.

"H-hey..." she stuttered, her rage obviously quelled a bit, "...d-don't think that'll get you out of... I-I still... Answer my question, damnit!" She pointed two frustrated fists towards the floor.

_There's my dere-dere._ Konata thought to herself fondly. She was filled with a sense of warmth and accomplishment. It was more than just beating a galge. It was knowing that the person she loved loved her back enough to acknowledge it. Nothing had ever felt so good. Not even finding the Laevatein could come near to matching how she felt now. This was...substantial.

Konata was genuinely euphoric, and it showed in her little kitty smile. "Of course it was funny. But I wouldn't want you if you weren't funny."

Kagami knew not whether to be insulted or complimented. She gave a small frown. "Stop being so ambiguous," she demanded, her tone still slightly subdued.

"I wanted you to confess," Konata said simply.

Kagami twitched. "...what?" Her voice began to sound a tad dangerous again.

"I...uh...wanted you to confess." Konata was preparing herself. Her fingers slipped back around the rim of the sink.

"Care to _elaborate?_" The lilac haired girl growled.

Konata was silent for a couple of seconds before protesting, "Well, it's not like you ever would have admitted it otherwise. I had to make you sure of your feelings so that it would be safe to approach you with mine." She held up a finger.

"So you're telling me that you did all of that for _insurance?_" Kagami loomed over the smaller girl. "What makes you think that you had to do all of that stupid stuff? What makes you think that I'd have never said anything on my own??"

"You're a _tsundere,_" Konata said as if only a truly clueless idiot would be unaware of such a fact. "Tsundere can never admit their feelings to themselves, much less others. If I hadn't pushed you, you would have denied it and eventually moved on. If I had confessed without making you realize how you felt, you would have rejected me, and then we wouldn't even be friends anymore. There are too many BAD ENDS to consider, and not enough save points. I had to be _careful._"

"So you...you..." Kagami's rage was reaching the boiling point again. The whole thing was an act to quell Konata's insecurities because of the stereotypes she'd learned from her games? She had been tortured for that? Bristling, the girl prepared for another outburst in her friend's face. Before the action could be carried out, however, realization dawned on her. All at once her harsh features softened and gave way to something startled, delicate, and very girlish. "...you like me?"

Konata sighed and tapped her fingers to her forehead before raising her hands up in the air, "Why else would I go to so much trouble?" It was a point that could not be argued. Konata had never been known to go to trouble unless she was passionate about her goal.

Kagami's face became emotional. She stepped toward Konata again, lifting her hands slightly as if she wanted to reach out and touch the smaller girl's arms. "You sure have a weird way of showing it, Konata!" Her voice nearly cracked. "You're so damn weird!"

Konata grinned proudly. The storm was settling and she knew that just this moment, she had finally, officially, and without any doubt--LEVLED UP.

"I do what I have to," Konata said as she took the initiative once again and put her arms around Kagami's waist.

Kagami tentatively returned the gesture, circling her arms around Konata's shoulders. For the first time, contact between them did not bring anxiety to the girl. This time, it was a warm, comfortable release. Kagami sighed. Konata took a deep breath. The games were right. Your one and only DID have a nice smell.

Amidst all the genuine love she was feeling, Konata's essentially otaku mind still strayed her thoughts. _It'll be fun to re-watch--crap! There won't be a video of this! Oh! Maybe there's a security camera. Probably not, cuz it is the lady's room...but it couldn't hurt to ask. Aaah...I should have set my cell phone to record!_ Konata silently cried a river of tears as she tried to discreetly shuffle her phone out of her pocket.

Kagami's fingers brushed and began to mix with the hair draping off of Konata's shoulders. "I..." she tried to speak without sounding too shaky. Konata startled. _Ah! She's going to say something. Maybe if I press the record button and hold the speaker against the inside of my pocket_ while _she says something, she won't notice the beep. I won't be able to get a visual, but audio is better than nothing! _"...I still don't entirely see why you had to go to -that- much trouble." Kagami finished her sentence. With much care, Konata hit record as Kagami said the word 'that.' Carefully, she turned the phone in her pocket so that the receiver stuck out a little.

A yellow headband suddenly seemed to randomly appear atop Konata's head. Maybe it had been in her pocket too. The face under the new accessory was emotional.

"Kagami...I had to become your enemy. So that you could kill me. I wanted you to hate me."

Kagami's face fell from emotional to utterly confused. "Huh?" She cocked a brow, then sighed. "Just what are you trying to impersonate now?"

The shorter girl didn't answer, only threw the headband off and threw on a Kyoto-accent. "I won't let you go anymore. You're all mine now." She hugged Kagami more closely, speaking a tad darkly.

"No really, please make sense." Kagami demanded flatly.

"I'm so happy..." Her odd voice continued. She then threw her hands up in the air, "BOOOM!"

Kagami jerked back at Konata's spontaneity. "Cut it out already!" She demanded. "Can't we have a serious moment for more than five minutes?"

"If you wanted that, you wouldn't be in love with me," Konata grinned.

Kagami's color shot to new levels of glowing red. "I-I wouldn't-- I-in l-l-l... shut up!" She swiftly turned away. Konata wanted desperately to take a picture, but restrained herself to a very haughty grin. Oh, and a sudden kiss.

"Mmm!" Kagami responded by flailing some, but resigned to this one faster than the other. She shut her eyes and leaned into Konata, heart flying out of control. It wasn't going to settle anytime soon either, because something soft and moist was beginning to brush over her lips.

_Oh my god she's kissing me she's kissing me again I'm being kissed IS THAT HER TONGUE?! HOLY CRAP IT'S HER TONGUE!_ Kagami silently panicked. _I can't be a lousy kisser! I've got to do it back!_ The poor flustered tsundere shut her eyes tight and reciprocated Konata's brazen actions. Konata was pleased, and took that as a permission to take the kiss further. It was then that their first kiss leveled up as well--to their first french kiss. Trembling but determined not to keep still and be a bad kisser, Kagami copied Konata's heightened gesture with high amounts of bounding nervous energy.

Konata's eyes suddenly popped open under downturned eyebrows. She backed up with a gasp, held her arm in front of her face, and exclaimed, "Violent! Like a beast!"

"Sh-shut up, damnit! Y-you're the one shoving your tongue into my mouth without any warning!" Kagami blurted, steaming red and pointing directly at Konata.

"You're right. I should have _expected_ you to be like that," Konata conceded with a well-placed insult and a chuckle.

"You ever wanna be kissed again??" Kagami fumed at the grinning otaku, holding up a fist.

"Yeah, but try to restrain yourself. I know I'm awesome, and it's hard to curb your passion for me --not to mention your innate violent nature-- but I'm so little you might hurt me. And bend your knees a little next time too, kay?"

"Bend my knees...?"

"Yeah. It's kind of a strain to reach you. I'm on the very tips of my tip-toes. It's annoying."

"Fine, fine." Kagami crossed her arms. "Jeez, together for five whole minutes and you're already making demands."

Konata lifted a finger informatively, "Good relationships are built on honest communication!"

Kagami wasn't quite sure how to react beyond bewilderment at the fact that Konata had stated a wise and rational truth. "W-well yeah..." A few moments passed. Kagami could still feel every part of her racing with euphoria that could hardly be contained by the bathroom walls, yet she managed to keep it in check. Recalling the events of the past week, the girl was tickled with a hint of doubt. "Ne Konata..." she tilted her head to the floor, lifting a hand to brush uneasily through one of her twin-tails, "...do you mean it this time? Jokes aside, you really... really like me that way?"

Konata smiled up at her new girlfriend. It was one of those really sweet genuine ones again. Kagami had never seen so many of them in a row before. "I chose the Kagami route a long time ago."

Kagami felt her heart do a somersault. Deep emotion flooded her features. Though it was expressed in the geekiest way possible, Kagami knew that there was no truer way for Konata to say what she meant. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's frame and leaned in to kiss her again. Konata returned the gesture and embraced the tsundere fondly.

"Bend your knees," Konata whispered quickly before their lips met.

Kagami complied, and the two shared another sweet, mutual kiss. Each held the other girl gently, their young minds focused on nothing outside of each other. Theirs was the kind of feeling that no one would forget for the rest of their lives. The moment would last forever in--

Click.

The sound of the bathroom door's cheap lock failing to keep the knob from turning was heard. In an instant the girls' lips unlocked as well, and they turned around all too slowly to stop the intruder from entering.

The door creaked open, and a cheerful Tsukasa was revealed. A cheerful Tsukasa who promptly froze in her tracks upon seeing Konata and Kagami in each other's arms. For another eternity, no one moved. Then, very slowly, Tsukasa stepped backward and shut the door again.

There were a few moments of silently staring at the door through a foreboding blue gradient rather than normal vision. Konata spoke first.

"Crap."

* * *

Glancing up from her Oolong tea, Miyuki noticed Kagami, Konata, and Tsukasa all returning to the table together. "Welcome back, everyone!" She greeted. "Kagami-san, Izumi-san, you were gone for quite a while. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, we're fine Miyuki." Kagami reassured.

"But Oneechan, I never knew that you were anemic! Are you sure you're alright?" Tsukasa balled her hands into worried fists, pressing them together below her chin. Kagami twitched.

"Neither did I," Konata said seriously from behind folded arms, "But I recognized some of the symptoms because I saw them listed in an anime. It's probably because she goes on these sugar binges and then cuts herself off from sugar completely in her frantic efforts to lose weight... Since her blood is so weak to begin with, starving herself probably made it happen even though she wasn't exercising."

Kagami's aforementioned twitches increased.

"Oh my, what happened?" Miyuki asked, looking concerned.

"Oneechan nearly fainted in the bathroom! Kona-chan rushed in to help her, and I found her holding onto her so she wouldn't fall down again!" Tsukasa explained naively.

"Kagami-san, are you really alright? If your anemia is causing problems, perhaps you should see a doctor."

"Just don't let him weigh you!" Konata chirped.

"I AM NOT ANEMIC!" Kagami burst out. She once again pointed a finger at Konata. "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!"

Konata made some hurt crying noises, letting everybody know they were fake. She didn't let everybody know that she was squeezing her girlfriend's hand under the table.

* * *

Christmas Eve arrived. Settled amidst Washinomiya Shrine, the Hiiragi household was bustling with activity. Namely, finishing off the last bits of their Christmas cake.

"Dad, the cake you bought this year was really good! Thank you!" Tsukasa praised.

"You're welcome, Tsukasa," her father answered. "It's difficult to choose a favorite for the whole family when I've got four daughters with different tastes... did Kagami enjoy it?"

Tsukasa nodded. "Yeah! She had more than one piece... huh, I wonder where Oneechan went to. She was here a little while ago." Tsukasa glanced around the table for her twin, who was nowhere to be found.

Within the confines of her room, Kagami sat cross-legged atop her bed, a half-eaten slice of cake placed beside her. She was staring furiously at the cell phone that she held in her left hand.

_A full day has passed, and... she hasn't called!! Yeah it's a holiday, but it's Christmas! It's not like it's New Year's or something! She SHOULD call me! She is NOT going to do this again! I'll KILL her!_ The phone trembled a bit in her hand._ I mean it this time, I'll really freaking--_

"Kagamiii! Konata-chan is here to see you!" Her mother's voice shattered the tsundere's violent thoughts. Kagami sprang from her bed and marched to the door of her room. Upon flinging it open, she was met with a most startling sight.

Konata stood in her doorway, dressed in an... interesting getup. What she wore might have been considered a Santa suit, but it was the miniest of mini-dresses, starting just above her minuscule bust and ending a few scant inches below her waist. It was red with the typical white fluff, and a neon-pink belt around the waist. She had gloves, boots, a hat, and a little red choker to match.

Kagami's jaw hung. She wasn't even able to muster a greeting.

"San-chaaaan!" Konata cried in a more adult voice than Kagami was used to, throwing herself at the dumbfounded girl. Kagami was knocked to the floor.

"Wh-wh-WHAT the hell are you doing??" She finally blurted. "Did my family see you like that?!"

"Yeah! I told them I came straight from work, cuz they were making funny faces at my seasonal outfit, for some reason."

"How can you act like there's always something wrong with everyone else, and not you?" Kagami asked exasperatedly, sitting up. Konata remained in her lap.

"I missed you," she said, in lieu of answering Kagami's question.

Kagami immediately blushed in her fullest dere-dere glory. "You... you did?"

_Kyaaa! Dere-dere! _"I sure did. You probably missed me more, though."

"Hmph, get over yourself." Kagami crossed her arms, still blushing. "... shut the door behind you, kay?"

"Oohn! You want some pu-rai-va-shee with me?" She said the word "privacy" in English with a terrible accent. Her voice was lyrical and mischievous. "Things you don't want anybody to see, hnn?" she teased as she obediently closed and locked the door.

"Yeah, like that outfit of yours." Kagami skillfully dodged the accusation. "Why did you come here dressed like that? I can only imagine how many people stared at you on the way here."

"Well, I already told you, I had to wear this at work today."

"Eh... just what do they make you do in a costume like that?" Suddenly the thought of A-boys gawking at Konata in costume was bothering Kagami more than it used to. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"I have a gift for you." Konata said with a cunning cat grin, her hands behind her back.

"Huh?" Kagami's back straightened, her eyes widened and her pigtails bounced in a very picturesque manner. "For me?"

"Yeah," Konata said as she dug around in the huge yellow backpack she had been carrying, "Here you go!" She pulled out a package that looked too big for the bag it had been in.

Kagami had assumed that her habit of blushing would die away with time now that she and Konata had admitted their feelings. To her dismay this was not so; her cheeks began to warm as she accepted the gift. "Wh-what is it?"

"You'll find out when you open it. But you have to give me a kiss first, " she grinned, pointing to her mouth.

Kagami's brows flattened. "What makes you think that you're going to have to bribe those kinds of things out of me now?"

"You don't like kissing me?"

"That's just the opposite of what I was saying!"

"Then what's the problem?"

Kagami sighed and hung her head. She stood up and moved to her bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Come over here, you brat."

Konata crawled over enthusiastically and then threw her arms around Kagami's shoulders. Kagami did her best not to give a flustered reaction. She pulled her arms free, placed a hand on each of Konata's cheeks, and drew her in.

Konata kissed her girlfriend softly but energetically. It lasted a good ten seconds before she backed up and pushed the gift towards Kagami. Kagami took a deep breath.

"H-hey, you don't have to be so intense every time." She ceased her scolding upon viewing the box again, and began tentatively unwrapping it. It was a very crisp rectangle, and when she turned it over to better pick at the seams of the SOS Brigade wrapping paper, she found that it was quite heavy. "Jeez, how did you carry this thing all the way here?"

"It's all about love."

"That's almost the first time that statement of yours has made sense." Kagami pretended that she wasn't blushing harder. She pulled off the last of the wrapping, and revealed the contents. "Ah! You... you actually got me some light novels! I can't believe it!" She lifted one from the book series inside out of the box, looking at the cover. It depicted a tall, silver-haired woman embracing a timid redheaded girl in a rather suggestive manner. Kagami sweatdropped. "Wait... what is this?"

"It's just like you said--light novels. The full set of the series so far, too!"

"I'm asking what the series is, and you know I am."

"Str--ber00 P--ic. It's Yuri."

"I thought so," Kagami hung her head, embarrassed. "Just because I'm with you doesn't mean I'm going to bury myself in this stuff like you would, you know."

"Since you've decided to be like that with me, consider it a little bit of recreational research. And I know you like light novels. You know, it's pretty rude to tear apart something I thoughtfully picked out for you," Konata pouted cutely.

"Thoughtfully picked out, huh? It couldn't just be because you want to get me to watch the anime with you, could it?" Kagami gave the smaller girl a playful smirk.

"What's wrong with that? It's nice to have things in common," Konata replied innocently.

"It is. I might give it a shot, actually." Kagami continued smiling in the same fashion, touching a finger to her chin.

"Really?!" Konata looked excited.

"Yeah." Kagami answered. "I should start doing things for you, just like you'll be doing things for me." Such sweet words bore a slightly ominous sound to Konata.

"...That sounds like a threat," Konata conjectured through squinted eyes.

"I figured it would, to someone like you." The tsundere flopped onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. She stared quietly for a moment, then spoke again. "This is going to be weird... being with another girl."

"Why's it weird? It's not like you ever got used to being with a boy," Konata reasoned, throwing in an insult for good measure. She laid down as well.

"You know -exactly- why it's weird." Kagami faced Konata, pinching one of her cheeks. "Though with you, it'd be weird even if one of us _was_ a boy."

Konata's voice stretched with her mouth, "Iiiitaiiiiii-iitaiiiii!"

Kagami released her, smiling. "Merry Christmas, Konata. Thanks for coming over."

Konata smiled back, rubbing her cheek a little. "Merry Christmas, Kagamin. I wouldn't miss it. It's an important event." Her smile faded a little, turning to a frown, "Though..."

"...though?"

"Well, in galge, the game's over after you get the girl and see the kiss scene. There's no more after that."

"And... ?"

Konata looked a little embarrassed, for once. "I'm not entirely sure what to do now."

Kagami looked heavily exasperated for a moment. _This girl... such an idiot! _She sighed through her nose, deciding to give Konata an optimistic approach on her own terms. "Look at it this way. Now it's like a game where there are two players, working together to reach whatever goal lies at the end. Right?" Kagami gave her a cute smile.

Konata looked at Kagami with a critical face, "Kagami..."

"Yeah?"

"There _are _no two-player galge."

"That's not my point!! And I was talking about a regular kind of game, not a dating sim!"

"Oh..." Konata seemed to turn the idea over in her mind a few times. Finally, her face lit up as she put her fist in her hand. "So it's like a two-player! I like that! All of life is really just like a game!" She smiled brightly at Kagami.

"No no, listen now, it's actually the other way around." Kagami waved her hand a little.

Konata's expression was blank, "But you just said that life was like a game."

"I was using an analogy to help you understand life, not encouraging your delusion!"

"But it _is_ just like a game! Now that I leveled up in my love stat, I have a new companion that will help me to build a fortune and defeat the forces of evil!" Konata was getting really excited, balling her tiny hands into fists and making various genki-girl gestures.

"Don't talk about our relationship like that, damnit!" Kagami just grew increasingly flustered.

"Let's strive for the top! High score!" Konata grasped Kagami's hand and shoved their two fists into the air.

"Can you stop fooling around for two seconds?!"

"I'll be the hero, and you can be the tsundere sidekick. Don't worry, I'll do most of the important stuff, but I need you to inspire me, so you can still feel useful even when you aren't actually doing anything important."

"W-wait a minute, now I'm the sidekick?!"

"The strongest one always has to be a leader, right? Don't worry, sidekicks are important, and sometimes they even get their own episodes. Also, you have the benefit of always being with me, and being my most important person. "

"You're not even hearing what I'm saying anymore, are you??"

"I love you." She said it with the same casual enthusiasm she'd been using to babble geekspeak.

"AH!" Kagami radiated a bright, glowing red. "I-I-I... y-y-you... !"

Konata saved her from forming a coherent sentence with a kiss. It was okay if she couldn't say it yet. She knew it was true. She was just dealing with a tsundere. _Yes...I took the Kagamin route. _She squeezed the girl she was kissing. _This – _she _– is exactly whom I wanted._

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Yaaaay! Wasn't that great? …wasn't it? :ahem: As I mentioned, a lot of that mushy stuff was very difficult to write. Wasn't my Konata writer brilliant, though? A big thanks to her. She says "Zzzzz". She would comment now, but she's sleeping in like a lazy butt. We really hope that you all enjoyed this story. Thanks for the ton of reviews you guys have been giving all along too. We are planning to write a short epilogue and later a sequel to this story, both of which will be entirely lighthearted as they should be. Thank you for reading!

Next Time: Hi, this is Tsukasa. Huh… what?! There's only an epilogue left?! That doesn't need a preview?? Oooh, and I'd finally planned for what I was going to say this time…


	8. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **Owning legal rights / me.

**Author's Notes:** This is it. Don't expect anything epic, this is just a cute little epilogue thingy that's for fun, and to maybe give hope for future fun in a sequel. Sorry it took so long again, but I bet you're sick of hearing that aren't you?

Level Up! Love!

Epilogue

"And that's how me and my Kagamin finally leveled up," Konata said with no small dose of pride.

Hiyori nodded attentively, giving Konata the focus that a soldier would give to her sergeant. Anizawa would have been weeping with a burning pride in her passion, had he been there to see her. She brought her notepad up to her face and began furiously scribbling.

"A-amazing story..."

"It is, it is," Konata nodded sagely from behind folded arms.

"Are there any other details you'd give me the privilege of hearing, Izumi-senpai?" Hiyori looked up from her seat, the lights in Konata's room reflecting brightly off of her glasses.

"Well..." Konata lead her on.

The dark-haired artist gulped. "W-well...?"

"For a little free M00 H-me doujinshi, I might consider letting you hear the audio recording of the final event," Konata muttered, as if she was trying to move a drug deal along.

"Deal!" Hiyori clenched a fist. "To draw inspiration from the real-life secret love-stories of my two senpai...there is no price too high!"

"Also, a free copy of whatever comes of this inspiration."

"Of course!" The artist flashed the otaku a thumbs up.

"Konata, I'm here!" A cheerful announcement sounded with the opening of Konata's door, Kagami allowing herself in.

It took about 10 seconds of dead silence before the pigtailed girl caught a glimpse of what was being drawn by Hiyori and fully assessed the situation.

"What, WHAT the hell are you doing?!" Kagami exploded, her neatly brushed hair frazzling. She fumed in her girlfriend's direction. "Konata!! Y-you promised not to tell anyone!!"

Konata's hands seemed to multiply as she franticly waved them in front of herself, "Well, Hiyorin doesn't count, right? She likes this kind of thing, so she'd never judge! Right, Hiyorin!?"

"Nn! Right!" Hiyori nodded vigorously. Her face was still red with excitement. "Your secret is one-hundred-percent safe with me!"

"So what is that that you're drawing??"

"Drawing?" Fast as lightning, Hiyori's arms whipped the pad to the seat of her chair, upon which she sat on it. "I saw no drawing." She adjusted her glasses so that her eyes couldn't be seen behind a bright reflected light.

Konata held her fists up in little balls and exclaimed, "That was so COOL! Like the 'ku-ru type-o!"

Kagami shot Konata a death glare that immediately shut her up. She then turned her attention to Hiyori.

"Konata and I need to talk."

"Don't worry, just think of me as a fly on the wa--"

"OUT."

"Eep!" Hiyori stood up straight in an instant, somehow causing the notepad she was sitting on to disappear. She seemed to give 15 repetitive bows to Kagami in the span of 10 seconds. "Yes, of course senpai! Forgive me!! Thank you so much for the opportu-- for your time, Hiiragi-sama!! And I'm off!" With that, she was gone in a cloud of dust.

"'Hiiragi-sama', is it?" Kagami twitched.

"You are the goddess of her inspiration."

"Did I say you could talk?"

Konata saluted, grinned, and bit her lower lip with an exaggerated obedience.

Kagami sighed out her immediate anger. "Look, you aren't going to start blabbing to everyone, are you? You promised me about this."

Konata made a few noises through her sealed lips and gesticulated energetically.

"...you can talk now."

"I had to talk to SOMEBODY about it. It's not fair! I'm just soooo happy I have to share it. Would you want me to explode? Don't worry, she's very open-minded, and she won't tell (directly.)"

"I guess telling all of your friends online last week wasn't enough?"

"I didn't tell sensei."

"Consider yourself lucky for that. I'm serious now... don't go breaking promises you make right away, especially to me."

"I won't tell anybody that might judge--but don't blame me if it slips to 'my kind.' They're all open-minded and you don't care what they think anyway, right?"

"Keep it to the internet, or it'll be more than homework that you won't get from me." Kagami pointed a semi-casual finger toward Konata's nose.

Konata conceded with a disgruntled, "Puuu."

There was a moment's silence.

"...Why are you here, anyway?" Konata finally asked.

Kagami's eyes widened, her eyebrows turned downward and her lip twitched. "...you forgot?"

Konata looked away with a blue smile.

"You forgot!! It's our two week anniversary and it was YOUR idea to go out on a date tonight, you idiot!!" Kagami fumed before shushing herself, remembering that there were other members in the household.

"What was that about secrecy?" Konata grinned.

"Sh-shut up." Kagami looked away, embarrassed. "Look," she blushed, "do you want to take me out or not?"

"I thought you were taking me out."

"_You_ offered."

"Well, since you came over as if to pick me up, it seemed like it was you taking me out."

"I could turn around and go home right now." Kagami's eyebrow twitched, indicating that her impatient threat was no bluff.

"I'll treat you," Konata reassured with a kiss on the cheek. "You're broke, anyway."

Kagami instinctively reached up and touched the increasingly red cheek that Konata had pecked, her heart skipping. "O-okay..." she answered softly. "You...you should change your clothes. You're dressed like your dad..."

"Kay."

* * *

"Hey, Konata?" Kagami asked as the two of them stepped out of Konata's room and toward her front door, doing their best to look like a couple of just-friends on their way to hang out.

"Yeah?"

"Back when you..." her voice hushed to a near whisper, "...when you k-kissed me on the train that time..."

"Nn?"

"Right as the doors closed, you said something that I couldn't hear. It's been bugging me forever...what was it you said?"

Konata raised a finger and opened her mouth with a smile. Nothing came out. The area around her eyes grayed as moments of silence passed.

"...well?"

"I forgot."

"What?! How could you forget that??"

Konata whined a little bit. "Well, you know how when you're doing something so important and exciting, you can't quite think about all the details because you're so nervous? You just get swept up in the feeling! It's like defeating the final boss in a pinch, you don't know how you did it. And then if you have to do it again, you forget how and don't know if you can repeat!"

"And all this translates too...?"

"I was just so wrapped up in the moment, I don't remember now. Don't you hate it when that happens?"

"That just sounds like some excuse that a forgetful person would make!" Kagami exclaimed as they shut the door behind them. "From the same person who forgot about tonight, too!"

Konata grabbed Kagami's hand reproachfully, "Jeez, don't make such a big deal. We'll have lots of time to make more memories." _And I have that recording..._

"Ah..." Kagami pinkened as Konata's fingers intertwined with hers. She couldn't help but smile a little. "H-hey...maybe we shouldn't hold hands where we can be seen..."

"You worry too much, Kagamin." Konata waved casually with her free hand. "Let's go have fun tonight."

As the two of them walked down the road together, neither noticed some shutters of the blinds bent back in one of Konata's windows; nor did they notice a hopeful Soujirou peeking through, a twinkle in his eye.

The End

**Author's Notes:** That was fun, wasn't it? I dunno when we'll get to writing the sequel, but it's going to be a bunch of little anecdotes from the lives of Kagami and Konata together, no real plot. That sounds awesome, I know. In other good news! We, the two members of weluvgirlswithglasses, who brought you this lovely story, are now engaged! I proposed on Thursday. Ooh, it's girl love all around. Doesn't that just make you happy inside? Thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing. We hope to keep giving you guys more Konami love in the future. :)


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